Former Mahila Congress’ local unit president Leena Taparia on Saturday switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of sitting MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Bittu and party’s district president Rajneesh Dhiman Ludhiana.
Bittu, who has been elected to the Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket in 2019, had also jumped ship to the BJP in the lead-up to the elections.
Congress councillors from Ludhiana East, Pallavi Vipan Vinayak, Varinder Sehgal and Gulshan Happy Randhawa, also joined the BJP alongside Taparia, who had also served as the vice-president of Mahila Congress Punjab.
The leader is a part of the Taparia family, who have been staunch supporters to the Congress over the years. Former Youth Congress president from Ludhiana East Anurag Taparia, Ashish Taparia and Aruna Taparia, along with Rakesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Gagan Sohal, Randhir Singh and Gagan Sohal also accompanied her in the exodus.
Taparia said she felt that BJP could bring “revolutionary change” in the country.
Welcoming her into the saffron party’s fold, Bittu said the exodus showed that leaders and cadres of the Congress have accepted that the future of India and Ludhiana lies with the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}Welcoming her into the saffron party’s fold, Bittu said the exodus showed that leaders and cadres of the Congress have accepted that the future of India and Ludhiana lies with the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}Dhiman, meanwhile, said women were the backbone of any political party as they are the ones who engage in door-to-door campaigning and get in touch with the voters directly.