# Naresh Bhardwaj

Nareshindra 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 is a member of the Progressive Conservatives. and was Associate Minister of Persons with Disabilities in the cabinet of Jim Prentice.
Bhardwaj ran 2012 provincial election as an incumbent PC candidate, winning a second term on April 23, 2012. He did not run in the 2015 general election.
He was made Associate Minister of Persons with disabilities in 2013.

## Controversy

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, and the Edmonton Police Service closed their investigation without laying any charges.
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. 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.

## Electoral history

vte2008 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 | Total | Total | 10,932 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 60 | 19 | 2 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 28,944 | 37.98% | -5.45% |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | 3.54% |
| Source(s) Source: "30 - Edmonton-Ellerslie, 2008 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. 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. |||||||
vte2012 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 | Total | Total | 13,213 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 115 | 39 | 3 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 26,721 | 49.89% | 11.91% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 4.63% |
| Source(s) Source: "33 - Edmonton-Ellerslie, 2012 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. 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. |||||||