Surendra Pal Singh Bittu (57) had been associated with Congress since 1977. Surendra Pal Singh Bittu (57) had been associated with Congress since 1977.

Former Congress MLA Surendra Pal Singh Bittu (57) Saturday joined the Aam Aadmi Party along with his supporters. A two-time former MLA from the Timarpur assembly constituency, Bittu served as the president of the Congress’s Karawal Nagar district unit.

Bittu had been associated with the Congress since 1977. He contested and won the MCD elections that year.

He joined the AAP in the presence of its senior leader and Delhi unit convener, Ashutosh. AAP leader Gopal Rai said, “He joined AAP after seeing the work the party has been doing in Delhi. This is reflective of the party’s good work in

the capital.”

Bittu lauded the AAP for working hard for the “interests of the poor and the downtrodden”, and said he wanted to work alongside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “I am happy that I have been given the chance to be associated with a party that has been working and fighting for people from different classes,” he said.

Apart from Bittu, eight current and former office-bearers of the Congress, including the serving secretary of its Delhi unit Ashok Tyagi, also joined the AAP. Sources said Bittu was considered a close confidante of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. Rai also announced that the AAP would organise a nationwide sit-in, called ‘Dhoka Diwas’, on November 8 to mark one year of demonetisation. He added that the National Convention would be held on November 26 to mark the party’s fifth anniversary.

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