Jitin's shift to BJP shows future of party bright, says UP finance minister

The 47-year-old leader, who earlier represented Dhaurahra parliamentary seat, switched to the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Praadesh.

Soon after former Union minister Jitin Prasada left the Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at its headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh’s finance minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said the party’s future is bright.

Party insiders and people close to Prasada said that he was getting unhappy with the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh and particularly Shahjahanpur, his home turf. (File photo)

“We are always ready to welcome anyone who joins the BJP. And you can see, our mass base is increasing. BJP’s future is bright,” Khanna said at a virtual press conference.

The 47-year-old leader, who earlier represented Dhaurahra parliamentary seat, switched to the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Praadesh.

Party insiders and people close to Prasada said that he was getting unhappy with the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh and particularly Shahjahanpur, his home turf. “He told us that he was hardly consulted for UP matters and what irked him was the change of guard in Shahjahanpur district Congress without his knowledge.”

Seizing the opportunity, Khanna further said, “If someone joins our party fold and is attuned to our policies and ideology, we will offer them the responsibility that they deserve.”

Prasada was a Union minister during the UPA tenure and had won two elections in 2004 and 2009. Since then, he lost all his elections while continuing to be a prominent Brahmin face of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. He was also a part of the G23 leaders who shot a letter to Congress president last year demanding sweeping changes in the party’s functioning.

He is the second Rahul Gandhi aide to cross over to the saffron party, after Jyotiraditya Scindia who left following the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.