Setback for BJP in Uttarakhand, Minister Yashpal Arya joins Congress ahead of Assembly polls
Senior BJP leader and Minister of Transport in the Uttarakhand government Yashpal Arya on Monday joined the Congress party ahead of the Assembly polls. His son Sanjeev also joined the grand old party in the presence of dormer CM Harish Rawat and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal in Delhi. Uttarakhand will go to the polls early next year.
Welcoming Yashpal to the party fold, Venugopal said that this is one of the happiest movements for the party as Uttarakhand is going to have an election. "Today, Yashpal Arya ji and Sanjeev Arya ji with us in this press conference... This gives a clear indication of the election in Uttarakhand," he said.
"Always standing for the cause of the downtrodden, today is the homecoming for them ...in the morning they met Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi also told them that in the coming days they will definitely strengthen the party," Venugopal added.
Party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala informed that Yashpal tendered resignation from the post of Cabinet Minister today morning.
Yashpal Arya served as the Speaker of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2007. He was then a member of Congress. He also served as the president of the Congress' Uttarakhand unit from 2007 to 2014.
He had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017 just ahead of the Assembly polls in that year. Yashpal represents the Mukteshwar assembly constituency while his son Sanjeev represents the Nainital seat.
