“Anil Antony is one of many opposition leaders to join BJP”.
New Delhi:
BJP’s Kerala chief K Surendran said that after Anil Antony, son of former Union minister and Congress leader AK Antony, more leaders would join the saffron camp.
Anil Anthony, who had earlier quit the Congress, on Thursday formally joined the BJP in the presence of Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and V Muraleedharan.
K Surendran and senior party leaders Tarun Chugh and Anil Baluni were also present during his induction.
Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Mr. Surendran, on a question whether the induction of Anil Anthony would boost BJP’s prospects in the southern state and increase its acceptability among Christian voters, said, “AK Antony is a senior Congress leader , who has held key positions in the party. Today, his son Anil Antony joined the BJP. More Congress leaders will soon join the BJP.
He said, “Anil Antony is one of the many opposition leaders joining the BJP. Even the learned and highly educated leaders of the opposition camp are now joining the BJP. We are talking to many other leaders of the Congress and the Left.” getting through.” Added.
Expecting a better vote share in the southern state, where the saffron party is yet to make any significant electoral gains, the BJP state chief said, “Last time our vote share in Kerala was not high. However, this time we Christian votes are expected to garner a major chunk as the Christian community has shown that it has full faith in Modi ji’s work.”
“We are running several campaigns in the state. The ‘Happy Easter Ghar Ghar Chalo’ campaign will be launched across the state from April 9. During this campaign, we will try to connect Christians with the BJP, which will have a huge impact on us.” vote share,” he said.
On the Congress veteran’s statement that he was unhappy about his son joining the BJP, Surendran said, “AK Antony has been with the Congress for six decades and it is natural for him to feel bad if his son joins the BJP. Thanks Anil Antony. Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on joining the BJP.”
Formerly the coordinator of the Congress’s social media cell in Kerala, Anil resigned from all party posts in January after coming out in support of Prime Minister Modi amid a controversy over a BBC documentary series.
Coming down heavily on the BBC over the documentary series, Anil termed the British public broadcaster as “a state-sponsored channel with a long history of prejudice” against India.
“Despite major differences with the BJP, I think those in India who hold the views of the BBC, a UK state-sponsored channel, have a long history of prejudice, and Jack Straw, the brains behind the Iraq War, Is setting a dangerous precedent on Indian institutions, will undermine our sovereignty,” Mr Anthony tweeted.
He later claimed to have received threatening calls and hate messages “throughout the night”.
Posting about his resignation on Twitter, Antony mocked the Congress, saying he had received intolerant calls to retract a tweet that read “fighting for freedom of expression”.
“I have resigned from my roles at @incindia, @INCKerala. Intolerable calls to retract a tweet by fighters for freedom of speech. I refuse. Those supporting the trek to promote love Facebook wall of hate/abuses! Hypocrisy is your name! Life goes on,” Anil K Antony said in a tweet.
This development is being seen as a major setback for the Congress in Kerala before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)