Uttarakhand Congress Vice-President (Organisation) Mathura Dutt Joshi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, days after his wife was denied a ticket for the mayoral post in the upcoming local body elections.

Alongside Joshi, former MLA and State Minister Bittu Karnatak, and Jagat Singh Khati, the former chairman of Pithoragarh Nagar Palika Parishad, also joined the BJP. Karnatak, a close associate of former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, was denied a ticket from Almora for the civic body polls.

Ahead of the January 23 civic body elections, Joshi had requested a ticket for his wife, Rukhmani Joshi, a member of the zila panchayat in Pithoragarh. However, the mayoral ticket was instead given to fellow party member Anju Lunthi, leading to Joshi’s frustration.

“I started working for the party in 1978 and helped build the organization from the grassroots. But the party keeps demanding work and offers no reward in return. Nearly 1,000 people have left the party in recent years. It is in disarray,” Joshi remarked.

Joshi, who became a chief spokesperson in 2014, also served as the vice-president of the UP Youth Congress from 1996 until the formation of Uttarakhand. Despite seeking a ticket for himself over the past decade, Joshi was never made a candidate in assembly elections. “Even when a revolt was happening within the Uttarakhand Congress, I stayed loyal. Congress opposes the BJP on various ideological and policy matters, but to survive, we must abandon ideology,” he said.

At the BJP office, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the new members, stating that their joining would strengthen the party’s position in the upcoming civic body polls. “When the leaders expressed their desire to work with the BJP, I was pleased that such experienced and dedicated leaders have come to us. Jagat Singh and Bittu Karnatak have over three and a half decades of experience, while Joshi Ji brings with him over four decades. Their arrival will help us secure a decisive victory in the elections,” Dhami said.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Congress Chief Spokesperson Garima Dasauni confirmed that Joshi had submitted his resignation. “Mathura Dutt’s resignation is not just a loss for the party, it is a personal loss. He had been in talks with other parties for some time. The tone of his recent statements made it clear that he was leaving,” Dasauni stated.

The Congress party has accepted his resignation, relieved him of his current post, and barred him from holding primary membership for six years. Joshi, 65, had been with the Congress since 1978.