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Naresh Bhardwaj
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Naresh Bhardwaj (born 1959) is a Canadian politician, who was elected in the 2008 provincial election to represent the electoral district of Edmonton-Ellerslie in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was a member of the Progressive Conservatives.[2] He was Associate Minister of Persons with Disabilities in the cabinet of Jim Prentice.
Key Information
Political career
[edit]Bhardwaj ran in the 2012 Alberta general election as an incumbent PC candidate, winning a second term on April 23, 2012.
He was made Associate Minister of Persons with disabilities in 2013.[3] He did not run in the 2015 general election.
He was the United Conservative Party (UCP) candidate in the 2025 Edmonton-Ellerslie provincial by-election.[4]
Controversy
[edit]In March 2015, Bhardwaj was accused of offering a $10,000 bribe to prevent other candidates from challenging him in an election, however he was later cleared of any wrongdoing by an internal PC Party investigation,[5] and the Edmonton Police Service closed their investigation without laying any charges.[6]
At the time of the allegations, Rachel Notley, leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party, requested that Bhardwaj step down and submit to an investigation.[7] In March 2015, Bhardwaj withdrew his name as a candidate for the 2015 general election, however he maintained his innocence in the matter in public statements.[8]
Electoral history
[edit]| 2008 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Ellerslie | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Naresh Bhardwaj | 4,581 | 41.90 | +10.08 | ||||
| Liberal | Bharat Agnihotri | 3,592 | 32.86 | -0.94 | ||||
| New Democratic | Marilyn Assheton-Smith | 1,891 | 17.30 | -4.85 | ||||
| Wildrose Alliance | Krista Leddy | 471 | 4.31 | -5.59 | ||||
| Green | Paul J. Boos | 335 | 3.06 | – | ||||
| Social Credit | Cheryl Ullah | 62 | 0.57 | -1.77 | ||||
| Total | 10,932 | 99.26 | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 81 | 0.74 | +0.13 | |||||
| Turnout | 11,013 | 35.17 | -8.37 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 31,317 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.51 | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "30 - Edmonton-Ellerslie, 2008 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 20, 2025. Chief Electoral Officer (2008). The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-Seventh Legislative Assembly (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 290–293. Retrieved April 7, 2021. | ||||||||
| 2012 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Ellerslie | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Naresh Bhardwaj | 5,677 | 42.97 | +1.06 | ||||
| Wildrose Alliance | Jackie Lovely | 3,258 | 24.66 | +20.35 | ||||
| New Democratic | Rod Loyola | 2,114 | 16.00 | -1.30 | ||||
| Liberal | Jennifer Ketsa | 1,504 | 11.38 | -21.47 | ||||
| Alberta Party | Chinwe Okelu | 523 | 3.96 | – | ||||
| Independent | Athena Bernal-Born | 137 | 1.04 | – | ||||
| Total | 13,213 | 98.83 | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 157 | 1.17 | +0.44 | |||||
| Turnout | 13,370 | 50.04 | +14.87 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 26,721 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | -9.64 | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "33 - Edmonton-Ellerslie, 2012 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 20, 2025. Chief Electoral Officer (2012). The Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2011 Provincial Enumeration and Monday, April 23, 2012 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-eighth Legislative Assembly (PDF) (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021. | ||||||||
| Alberta provincial by-election, June 23, 2025: Edmonton-Ellerslie Resignation of Rod Loyola | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ** Preliminary results — Not yet official ** | ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Gurtej Singh Brar | 4,327 | 50.84 | -10.90 | ||||
| United Conservative | Naresh Bhardwaj | 3,239 | 38.06 | +1.23 | ||||
| Liberal | Manpreet Tiwana | 410 | 4.82 | – | ||||
| Republican | Fred Munn | 291 | 3.42 | – | ||||
| Alberta Party | Caroline Currie | 203 | 2.39 | – | ||||
| Wildrose Loyalty Coalition | Pamela Henson | 41 | 0.48 | -0.94 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 8,511 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Eligible voters | ||||||||
| New Democratic hold | Swing | -6.07 | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: Elections Alberta | ||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Ellerslie". The Edmonton Journal. February 28, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
54, teacher (his age and occupation)
- ^ "Biography for Mr. Naresh Bhardwaj". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
- ^ "Alberta Cabinet swearing-in ceremony - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ Tran, Cindy (May 19, 2025). "Alberta NDP and UCP nominate candidates for Edmonton-Ellerslie constituency". Edmonton Journal.
- ^ Parrish, Julia (March 23, 2015). "Edmonton-Ellerslie MLA withdrawing nomination from PC Party". Edmonton. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ Cormier, Ryan (November 2, 2015). "No charges in Edmonton bribery investigation of former MLA Bhardwaj". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ Kleiss, Karen (March 13, 2015). "Alberta government minister accused of offering $10,000 bribe should 'step aside,' NDP leader says". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- ^ "MLA Naresh Bhardwaj won't run while bribery allegations unresolved". CBC News. March 23, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
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