Congress’s loss, BJP’s gain: Scindia, Amarinder, now Anil Antony, leaders who left ‘sinking ship’ for ‘Kamal’

Anil Antony, son of Congress veteran and former Defense Minister AK Antony, on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), joining the league of leaders who have switched allegiance in the recent past for better opportunities and posts. .

Anil Antony quit the Congress on January 25, a day after he faced criticism from the party for taking a jibe at the BBC over his documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Anil said, “It has been a very defining decision of my life… A few months ago, I left the Congress because of differences over a documentary, which I feel was an attack on our sovereignty and integrity.” ANI,

After a dismal performance in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections since 2019, several Congress leaders have quit the grand-old party and the resignation spree is likely to continue till the next general elections.

Here is a list of Congress leaders who joined the party’s arch-rival BJP:

Amarinder Singh

A scion of the erstwhile Patiala royal family, Amarinder Singh quit the Congress in November 2021 following his unceremonious exit as chief minister. Later, the former two-time chief minister formed the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) for the state assembly elections. The PLC contested the election in alliance with the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (United) led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. However, none of its candidates could win, with Singh himself losing from his home turf of Patiala Urban. Singh joined BJP in September 2022 and merged PLC with BJP. He was also named to the National Executive of the BJP.

Sunil Jakhar

After the Punjab Assembly elections, Jakhar was removed from all Congress posts for two years on the recommendation of the Disciplinary Action Committee. In May 2022, he joined the BJP and was later named to the party’s national executive.

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Jyotiraditya Scindia, who helped bring the Congress back to power in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, ended his 18-year association with the party and resigned in March 2020 over his tussle with the party leadership in the state. At least 20 MLAs loyal to Scindia quit their assembly membership, resulting in the fall of the Kamal Nath government.

Later, Scindia joined the BJP and was also elected to the Rajya Sabha. After the cabinet reshuffle in 2021, he was included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet. He was given the portfolio of Civil Aviation Minister, a position also held by his father and late Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia from 1991 to 1993.

hardik patel

Hardik Patel emerged as the face of the 2015 Patidar reservation protests and was even projected by some political pundits as the future of Gujarat politics. However, after the protest, he again could not gather huge crowds for a large-scale protest and has remained in political wilderness ever since. He joined the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, but made no difference to his party as the BJP won all parliamentary seats in Gujarat.

Jitin Prasad

Jitin Prasad was a prominent Brahmin face of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Prasad, who started his career with the Youth Congress, was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004. He was a minister during the UPA government at the Centre. The Congress appointed him in-charge of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections. However, the party suffered a humiliating defeat in West Bengal. In June 2021, Prasad joined the BJP and became part of the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.

Jaiveer Shergill

Former Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill was appointed as the BJP’s national spokesperson last year after he quit party posts or the primary membership of the party following a scathing letter to Sonia Gandhi, which included “persons indulging in sycophancy”. selfish interests and persistent ignorance of the ground reality”. Shergill was reportedly not allowed to hold party press conferences for the past several months for the Congress before quitting the party.

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