New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS): Ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections on February 8, the ruling AAP got a major boost as four-time BJP legislator and former minister Harsharan Singh Balli on Saturday joined the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.
Balli has been an MLA from the Hari Nagar assembly constituency, and a minister in the previous Madan Lal Khurana-led Delhi cabinet.
He joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
"Kejriwal is serving Delhi as a mother. I have joined the AAP as I am influenced by the way he has brought revolution in the field of education, health, etc. in Delhi. The AAP has the vision for the development of Delhi," Balli told IANS after joining the AAP.
Despite being a strong contender from the Hari Nagar seat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) replaced Balli with Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga -- a move that is believed to have upset the former BJP minister.
In 2013, Balli contested the election on a Congress ticket after the BJP gave the ticket for the Hari Nagar seat -- that he represented from 1993 to 2013 -- to an Akali Dal candidate. However, he rejoined the BJP in 2014 after losing the election on the Congress ticket.
Now, once again, ahead of the election, he has left the BJP and joined the AAP.