Expelled Uttarakhand Congress leader Kishore Upadhyay joins BJP ahead of assembly polls

Dehradun: Ahead of the Uttarakhand assembly polls, expelled former state Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  Upadhyay arrived at the BJP office in Dehradun this morning. 

Speaking to news agency ANI before joining the party, he said, "I will do something new now. Time has come to speak up."

Addressing the media persons after joining BJP, Upadhyay said, "I think Uttarakhand`s development is only possible under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and I want to work towards making Uttarakhand a better state."

"I am impressed with the work RSS and BJP have done in Tehri and Uttarkashi. I am grateful to Prahlad Joshi for giving me this opportunity to be a part of the BJP," he added.

I have joined BJP with the spirit of taking Uttarakhand forward. You should ask Congress why such a situation has risen: Kishor Upadhyay after joining BJP in Dehradun#UttarakhandElections2022 pic.twitter.com/i7LIuJbL8Q

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 27, 2022

Speaking on the reason behind his expulsion from Congress, the newly inducted BJP leader said, "A picture of myself with BJP went viral which was represented in a different light."

Earlier on Wednesday, Congress expelled former party chief in Uttarakhand Kishore Upadhyay for "anti-party activities". He was removed from the primary membership of the Congress party for six years.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) in a letter on January 26 had written, "Since you had been indulging in anti-party activities despite several warnings, so you are hereby expelled from the primary membership of Congress party for six years with immediate effect."

Former Congress Chief of Uttarakhand, Kishore Upadhyay expelled from the party for 6 years for "anti-party activities". pic.twitter.com/DBAfZAQKl8

— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2022

Kishore Upadhyay was the president of the Congress' Uttarakhand unit from 2014 to 2017. According to sources, Upadhyaya is likely to contest the Assembly polls from the Tehri constituency.

Meanwhile, elections to the 70-member Uttarakhand assembly will be held on February 14. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.