Naveen Jindal, ex-Congress MP and steel tycoon, joins BJP, to fight from Kurukshetra

Naveen Jindal, industrialist and former Congress MP, switches to BJP before Lok Sabha polls.

Updated on: Mar 24, 2024, 21:17:35 IST

By HT News Desk

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Naveen Jindal, former Congress MP and industrialist, on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of Lok Sabha elections scheduled to start on April 19.

Naveen Jindal joined BJP in the presence of BJP leader Vinod Tawde at BJP HQ in New Delhi on Sunday. (Arvind Yadav /HT)

Hours later, BJP in its new list, fielded Jindal from Kurukshetra.

Earlier in the day, he announced his decision on social media platform ‘X’: "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."

The two-time member of Lok Sabha from Congress ticket joined the BJP in New Delhi at party headquarters in the presence of its general secretary, Vinod Tawde, who said that Jindal's affiliation with the party would advance the government's agenda of enhancing the country's economy and prosperity.

Who is Naveen Jindal?

• Naveen Jindal holds the position of chairman at Jindal Steel & Power (JSP), a prominent industrial conglomerate in India, with interests in steel, mining, and infrastructure sectors.

• He is also the founding Chancellor of O. P. Jindal Global University, which is ranked as the top private university in India according to the QS World University Rankings 2023.

• Jindal is actively involved in sports, particularly polo and skeet shooting, where he has achieved national recognition.

• He is married to Shallu Jindal, an Indian classical Kuchipudi dancer and the chairperson of the Jindal Steel and Power Foundation.

• The couple has two children, Venkatesh and Yashasvini.

Naveen Jindal's political stint with Congress

Industrialist Naveen Jindal served as a member of parliament for the Kurukshetra constituency in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2014.

However, he faced defeat in the 2014 national elections against BJP's Raj Kumar Saini. Subsequently, in the 2019 elections, the Congress party chose not to field him as a candidate.

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