Bharat Agnihotri

Bharat Agnihotri (born April 9, 1953) is a Canadian politician and a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He represented the constituency of Edmonton-Ellerslie, sitting as a Liberal. He was elected in the 2004 election, but was defeated in the 2008 election.

Bharat Agnihotri
MLA for Edmonton-Ellerslie
In office November 22, 2004 – March 3, 2008
Preceded by	Debby Carlson
Succeeded by	Naresh Bhardwaj
Personal details
Born	(1953-04-09) April 9, 1953 India
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Rita
Children	2
Residence	Edmonton, Alberta
Alma mater	Guru Nanak Dev University
Occupation	Realtor

Early life

Agnihotri was born in India, and graduated from Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science.[1] In 1976 he immigrated to England, where he lived until 1990, when he came to Edmonton.[1] He began work as a realtor in 1997.[1]

Politics

Electoral record

Agnihotri first sought election in the 2001 provincial election, when he ran as a Liberal in Edmonton Mill Creek against incumbent Gene Zwozdesky.[2] Zwozdesky had been elected as a Liberal the previous election, and Agnihotri had volunteered for his campaign.[3] However, Zwozdesky had left the Liberal caucus in July 1998, and joined the Progressive Conservatives a month later, and it was under their banner that he was seeking re-election. Agnihotri finished second, with 29% of the vote, nearly four thousand votes behind Zwozdesky.[2]

The next election, Agnihotri ran in Edmonton Ellerslie, which had been vacated by Liberal Debby Carlson, who had resigned to run in the 2004 federal election. Agnihotri won a narrow victory, finishing 199 votes ahead of Progressive Conservative Gurnam Dodd.[4] He sought re-election in the 2008 election, but was defeated by the Progressive Conservative candidate.[5]

Legislative initiatives

In 2007, Agnihotri sponsored the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (Repeal of Ministerial Briefing Exemption) Amendment Act, would have eliminated ministerial briefings from the list of documents exempt from public disclosure under the province's access to information provisions.[6] It never reached second reading.[7]

Community Initiatives Program incident

On April 3, 2007, Agnihotri became the first MLA to be named - that is, asked by the Speaker to leave the assembly - in Ken Kowalski's nine years as speaker.[8] This occurred as result of questions he asked Minister of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture Hector Goudreau about the Community Initiatives Program, which dispenses grants to community groups.[8] Agnihotri began by noting that, despite a rule that unmatched grants could not exceed ten thousand dollars, forty-three groups had received unmatched grants exceeding that amount.[8] He then asked if these groups included any who had made donations to the leadership campaigns of Ed Stelmach, Dave Hancock, Lyle Oberg, or Ted Morton - all of whom were cabinet ministers and all of whom had refused to disclose full lists of donors from their leadership campaigns:[8] "Can this minister assure this house that groups receiving this special treatment are not secret friends of top Tories?"[9] Hancock rose on a point of order, and Kowalski ruled that Agnihotri's question impugned the integrity of the ministers, and that the question was a party matter that had no place in the legislature.[8] He asked Agnihotri three times to apologize and, after Agnihotri refused, he named him.[9] Agnihotri was not to be allowed back into the Legislature until he apologized and all members of the assembly agreed to re-admit him.[10] He apologized the next day, saying that his constituents wanted him to and that "if you stay outside, you're not going to help Albertans, so better you go inside and fight for it."[10]

Post-political career

After his defeat in 2008, Agnihotri announced plans to return to work as a realtor.[11]

Personal life

Agnihotri is married to Rita and has two children.[1] He enjoys cricket and table tennis.[1]

Election results

2001 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Mill Creek
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Gene Zwozdesky	8,085	55.67%	27.40%
	Liberal	Bharat Agnihotri	4,229	29.12%	-22.80%
	New Democratic	Edwin Villania	1,893	13.03%	-0.83%
	Alberta First	Kyle Harvey	220	1.51%	–
	Greens	Harlan Light	97	0.67%	–
Total			14,524	–	–
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined			41	–	–
Eligible electors / Turnout			26,307	55.37%	-0.78%
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		1.45%
Source(s) Source: "Edmonton-Mill Creek Official Results 2001 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

2004 Alberta general election results (Edmonton Ellerslie)			Turnout 43.4%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Bharat Agnihotri	3,444	33.8%
	Progressive Conservative	Gurnam Dodd	3,245	31.9%
	NDP	Marilyn Assheton-Smith	2,257	22.2%
	Alberta Alliance	Eleanor Maroes	1,005	9.9%
	Social Credit	Amelia Maciejewski	238	2.3%

2008 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Ellerslie
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Naresh Bhardwaj	4,581	41.90%	10.07%
	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 Boos	335	3.06%
	Social Credit	Cheryl Ullah	62	0.57%	−1.75%
Total			10,932
Rejected, spoiled and declined			81
Eligible electors / Turnout			31,317	35.17%
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		5.51%
Source: The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. July 28, 2008. pp. 290–293.

References

1. "Agnihotri's Legislative Assembly of Alberta biography". Archived from the original on 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2006-10-05.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
2. "Alberta's past election results". Retrieved 2008-03-06.
3. Rogers, David (2006-05-18). "Rally to the cause". Real Estate Weekly. Archived from the original on 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
4. "2004 election results, Edmonton Ellerslie" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-12.
5. "2008 election results, Edmonton Ellerslie". Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
6. "Introduction of Bills – Bill 218: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (Repeal of Ministerial Briefing Exemption) Amendment Act, 2007" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. November 8, 2007. p. 1888.
7. "Legislative Assembly of Alberta Bill Status Report for the 26th Legislature - 3rd Session (2007)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
8. "Oral Question Period – Point of Order: Reflections on Members" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 3, 2007. p. 371.
9. "Alberta Liberal MLA tossed from legislature". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
10. "MLA apologizes, allowed back into legislature". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
11. Audette, Trish (2008-03-04). "Tories triumphant for first time since '72". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2008-03-12.