Bolstering the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2022, Congress leader and former Union Minister Jitin Prasada joined the BJP on Wednesday.
The former Lok Sabha MP from Dhaurahra in Uttar Pradesh was one of the Congress's top leaders in India's most politically crucial state. 47 year old Prasada will be the second high-profile former Rahul Gandhi aide to defect to the BJP since Jyotiraditya Scindia left last year.
Jitin Prasada was among the G-23 leaders, the Congress’s rebel group, that demanded an overhauling of the Congress after the 2019 Lok Sabha election results.
He had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi last year calling for sweeping reforms, collective decision-making and was rooting for strengthening the Congress’s organisation in Uttar Pradesh by reclaiming Brahmin vote bank, which once was the stronghold of the party.
Prasada was tasked with the Congress' campaign in Bengal, during which he was vocal abou the Congress' alliance with the Indian Secular Front, led by a cleric.