Congress MLA from Gujarat’s Khedbrahma constituency Ashwin Kotwal resigned from the state Assembly on Tuesday and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Kotwal, a three-time MLA, said that he was unhappy with the Congress, ANI reported.

“Instead of giving tickets to those who are popular among the masses, the party leadership used to favour only those who remained loyal to them,” Kotwal said, PTI reported. “I feared they can deny me a ticket in the future, and because of such injustice, I am now joining the BJP.”

Kotwal also said that Congress only pretends to support the tribal society. The Khedbrahma seat, which Kotwal represented, is reserved for Scheduled Tribes candidates.

After joining BJP, Kotwal described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a leader whose primary agenda is development.

“He [Modi] has travelled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and has made development in Gujarat’s Umargam village to Ambaji,” Kotwal said. “When Modi saheb talked to me in 2007, he said that all the tribal brothers should have a house in the tribal area.”

With Kotwal’s resignation, the Congress is left with 63 MLAs in the 182-member state Assembly, while the BJP has 111 members.