Former Uttarakhand Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday, a day after he was expelled from the Sonia Gandhi-led party for “anti-party activities”, reported ANI.

“I have joined BJP with the spirit of taking Uttarakhand forward,” he told reporters. “You should ask Congress why such a situation has risen.”

In a letter dated January 26, the Devender Yadav, the Congress leader in charge of Uttarakhand, had told Upadhayay that he has been dismissed from the Congress for six years with immediate effect.

The letter said that Upadhayay had been continuously engaging in “anti-party” activities despite being warned several times.

Upadhyay was earlier also removed from all party positions after he had met BJP leaders, including the Union minister Pralhad Joshi, who is the party’s leader in charge for Uttarakhand polls, reported PTI.