Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Minister Sardar Harsharan Singh Balli joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday. Balli joined the party in the presence of Delhi BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva, and other party leaders including, Subhash Arya and Subhash Sachdeva. Along with Balli, his son Sardar Gurmeet Singh 'Rinku' Balli also joined the BJP.
Balli returns after 4 years
Balli's return to the BJP comes after nearly four years. In January 2020, he left the saffron party to join AAP in the presence of then-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and then Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. Balli was MLA from the Hari Nagar assembly constituency from 1993 to 2013 and also served as Industrial minister during Madan Lal Khurana's government in Delhi.
BJP, AAP at loggerheads
Recently, the AAP government in Delhi and the BJP came at loggerheads over the deteriorating air quality and rising air pollution in the national capital. Two weeks ago, Delhi BJP leaders staged a protest against Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann over air pollution concerns at Kapurthala House, reporting that 108 incidents of stubble burning were recorded in Punjab. A delegation of leaders sought a meeting with the Punjab CM to submit a memorandum but could not meet him.
Delhi BJP president Sachdeva stated that 108 cases of stubble burning were reported in Punjab on October 26 alone, yet ministers from the Delhi government frequently place blame on neighbouring states Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
(With inputs from agencies)
ALSO READ | Mateen Ahmad, five-time Congress MLA, joins AAP ahead of Delhi Assembly elections
