Guwahati: In a huge blow Congress leader and Former Union Minister Jitin Prasada, once close to Rahul Gandhi, joined the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) today, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh election next year.
Jitin Prasada joins BJP in the presence of Union Miniter Piyush Goyal, at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
Jitin Prasada, 47, is the second high-profile former Rahul Gandhi aide to defect to the BJP since Jyotiraditya Scindia left last year. He had denied rumours in 2019 that he was leaving the Congress. Sources say at the time Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had convinced him to stay.
The former Lok Sabha MP from Dhaurahra in Uttar Pradesh was one of the Congress’s top leaders in India’s most politically vital state, and a big loss ahead of elections due in less than a year.