BJP lawmaker joins Indian National Congress

World Wednesday 24/April/2019 19:46 PM
By: Times News Service
BJP lawmaker joins Indian National Congress

New Delhi: Udit Raj, a lawmaker from India's ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), officially switched sides and joined Congress as campaigning intensifies throughout the country.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi gave Raj a warm welcome to the party, with an image of the two together quickly going viral.

"Today I joined the Congress party. I am thankful to Rahul Gandhi," Raj wrote on twitter after joining the party.

"I always opposed the BJP's policies," Raj told reporters.

BJP had picked singer Hans Raj Hans to replace Raj in the North West Delhi constituency on Tuesday.

Raj, a minority rights activist, had won the seat in 2014. He had threatened to say "goodbye to the party (BJP)" if he was not given a ticket to contest.

In 2014, Raj e merged his Indian Justice Party with the BJP before the election that swept them to power.

Modi and the BJP are facing tough competition from Gandhi, a scion of the powerful Nehru-Gandhi clan, and regional parties that have forged coalitions across the country.