Uttarakhand AAP chief Deepak Bali joins BJP hours after resigning from party's membership

Uttarakhand's Aam Aadmi Party president Deepak Bali on Tuesday joined the ruling BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at the state party office.

The movement comes hours after Bali resigned today from his post and the membership of the party.

Bali cited being uncomfortable with the party's methodology as the reason for his resignation.

In a letter to AAP's national convenor Arwind Kejriwal, Deepak Bali mentioned that he won't be able to carry on with the functioning of the party and thus asked for acceptance of his resignation from the post of Uttarakhand state chairmanship.

His resignation came after the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) chief ministerial candidate for the recently concluded Assembly election in Uttarakhand, Retired Colonel Ajay Kothiyal on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Dehradun.

The former army officer announced his decision to quit the party on Twitter, posting his resignation letter on the microblogging site.

In March this year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in Uttarakhand as it bagged 47 seats, 11 more than the required majority in the 70-seat assembly. According to the Election Commission of India, Congress won 19 seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) registered victory in two constituencies.

(with agency inputs)