New Delhi: Former Samajwadi Party leader Gaurav Bhatia on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party at a function here.  


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Earlier, he was the spokesperson of the Akhilesh-led party.


Bhatia had resigned from SP on February 5 ahead of the crucial UP elections.


Earlier in Facebook post, he had expressed his desire to quit from all party posts. Besides being a spokesperson, he also headed the SP's Legal Wing.


Explaining his decision to quit, he said that it was based on his belief in the principles of democracy and socialism. 


Bhatia was associated with the party for more than one-and-a-half decade.


He said that it had become hard to continue serving the party. 


Bhatia, who is a Supreme Court lawyer, said, "The SP was moving away from the ideals of Ram Manohar Lohia. There is no value of loyalty and sincerity and it has been surrendered to dynastic politics."


He, however, refrained from launching any personal attack on former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav or his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.


He joined the party in the presence of BJP national secretary Bhupendra Yadav and national general secretary Arun Singh at the party office. Bhatia later met Amit Shah.


The BJP, however, didn't comment on what role Bhatia would play.


"Bhatia is the General Secretary of the Bar Association of Supreme Court. He is an alumni of Bridgeport University in the United States and Lucknow University from where he did his LLB. He has been spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party for long," a statement from BJP said.


Bhatia said he has belief in the 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' call of Modi and Shah.


He said the country can develop only under the leadership of the BJP.


(With agency inputs)