Congress leader Naveen Jindal joins BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections: ‘I thank Manmohan Singh and…’

Former Congress MP Naveen Jindal has joined the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections. The Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power thanked the party leadership and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his resignation note. Visuals shared online indicate that he joined the BJP in Delhi soon after explaining to social media users that he was no longer part of Congress. 

“I represented Congress Party in Parliament as MP from Kurukshetra for 10 years. I thank the Congress leadership and the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Today I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress Party,” he tweeted on Sunday evening. 

“Today is a very important day of my life. I am proud that I joined the BJP today and I will be able to serve the nation under the leadership of PM Modi. I want to contribute to the 'Viksit Bharat' dream of PM Modi,” the businessman added after his induction.

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Jindal is the latest in a long list of high-profile Congress leaders that have defected to the BJP in recent weeks. The list includes former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, senior politician Suresh Pachouri and party national secretary Ajay Kapoor. Others such as Milind Deora and Baba Siddique have also quit the Congress to join parties allied with the BJP in 2024. The INDIA bloc has also lost several key members to the saffron party.

Former Indian Air Force chief RKS Bhadauria and ex-YSR Congress MP Varaprasad Rao had also joined the BJP on Sunday morning.

“I served the IAF for more than four decades, but the best time of my service was the last 8 years under the leadership of the BJP government. The tough steps taken by this government to empower and modernise our armed forces and make them self-reliant have not only given rise to a new capability in the forces but also given them a new confidence. The results of the self-reliant move by the government can be seen on the ground…” he had said.

(With inputs from agencies)