New Delhi: Former Samajwadi Party leader and spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia yesterday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in national capital.
On February 5th, Bhatia had resigned from Samajwadi Party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, saying it was becoming difficult for him to continue serving the party “when it is compromising the very principles of democracy, secularism and socialism that I have always believed in”.
Earlier, the former SP spokesperson praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah and said that they had inspired him to join the BJP.
One of the popular faces of the party on television debates, Bhatia said, “The SP was moving away from the ideals of Ram Manohar Lohia. There is no value of loyalty and sincerity and it has been surrendered to dynastic politics.”
The Supreme Court lawyer joined the BJP in the presence of party national secretary Bhupendra Yadav and national general secretary Arun Singh.
In the recently concluded UP assembly election the SP was reduced to 47 of the 403 assembly seats while the BJP secured 312 seats.
Bhatia, who was also the national president of SP’s lawyers wing, had quit the party saying it failed to protect the interest of the lawyer community in Uttar Pradesh.
However, the BJP didn’t comment on what role Bhatia would play. Bhatia, who was additional advocate general of the Uttar Pradesh government during the SP rule.
Bhatia, refrained from launching any personal attack on former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav or his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.
A Supreme Court lawyer, Bhatia is son of late Virendra Bhatia, UP’s former advocate general and also a Rajya Sabha member. He was considered very close to SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.
