As the Lok Sabha elections draw near, the ripple of politicians switching allegiances continues unabated. A closer look at recent developments reveals that the Congress Party has faced significant setbacks, with many of its veteran members severing ties. Names like Gaurav Vallabh, Vijender Singh, and Naveen Jindal are among several who have recently let go of Congress's hand. Similarly, leaders from Aam Aadmi Party, BRS of Telangana, BSP, JMM, TMC, and TDP have distanced themselves from their parties and started marching in step with the BJP.
Recently, 16 Congress leaders have resigned and joined BJP. In addition to these, 8 leaders from BRS, 2 each from Aam Aadmi Party and YSR Congress Party, and one each from Biju Janata Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Telugu Desam Party, and All India Trinamool Congress have embraced BJP. Along with them, an independent leader has recently joined the ranks of BJP.
In its quest to conquer a record number of 370 seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, BJP has set an aggressive goal. To meet this ambition, they've also issued tickets to many politicians from other parties. Prior to the election, 34 candidates from other parties were assimilated into BJP.
Source: aajtak
Focusing first on Gaurav Vallabh, who criticized Congress for lacking direction and declared his inability to chant anti-establishment slogans. Despite being the architects of the 1991 liberalization, privatization, and globalization policies that transformed the Indian economic landscape, he felt Congress consistently disrespected wealth creators, prompting his shift to BJP. Joining him are noted figures including Ashok Tanwar, Bhartuhari Mahtab, BB Patil, Kiran Kumar Reddy, Parnit Kaur, Naveen Jindal, Jitin Prasada, Anil K Antony, Ranjit Singh Chautala, Vijender Singh, and Soumendu Adhikari.
The array of leaders from other parties who have boarded BJP's ship
- Ashok Tanwar has left the Aam Aadmi Party to contest from Haryana's Sirsa on a BJP ticket. Previously, he held important positions such as President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee and President of the Indian Youth Congress.
- Bhartuhari Mahtab, always in the limelight, has been a BJD MP for six consecutive terms. Business tycoon Naveen Jindal changes camp and moves from Congress to BJP. In both 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he contested on a Congress ticket and was elected as an MP.
- Anil K Antony, son of former Defence Minister AK Antony, has also left Congress to join BJP. Having embarked on his political journey in 2019, he served as the coordinator of Congress's Digital Media Cell in Kerala.
Source: aajtak
- Another significant switch is Soumendu Adhikari, former TMC MP from Tamluk Lok Sabha seat. He is the brother of Suvendu Adhikari, who famously defeated Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections for the Nandigram seat.
- In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP fielded 437 candidates, including 23 who had switched from other parties. Of these, 13 emerged victorious, with 8 winning in UP, 3 in West Bengal, and 1 each in Maharashtra and Haryana.
