U'khand: Ahead of local body polls, Cong vice chief joins BJP

Uttarakhand Congress vice president (organisation) Mathura Dutt Joshi on Saturday resigned from the party ahead of the crucial urban local body elections and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

- Amit Bathla

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Congress vice president (organisation) Mathura Dutt Joshi on Saturday resigned from the party ahead of the crucial urban local body elections and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in presence of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and state president Mahendra Bhatt.

Joshi was upset with the party over the denial of the mayoral ticket to his wife and zila panchayat member, Rukhmani Joshi, from Pithoragarh. The Congress fielded Anju Lunthi against BJP's Kalpana Devlal for the Pithoragarh mayoral seat.

"After serving the Congress with full devotion for 48 years of my life, I am, with great grief, resigning from the primary membership of Congress party along with the posts of member, All India Congress Committee; member, coordination committee, Uttarakhand Congress; state vice president (organisation), Uttarakhand Congress; member, state election committee, Uttarakhand Congress," he said in the letter written to the party's national president, Mallikarjun Kharge.