Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President JP Nadda, in New Delhi. (PTI File)
“Not only MPs and MLAs, but many MLAs who have recently been elected are also set to join the BJP. Mark my words,” a senior BJP source told News18
Beginning February 20, a barrage of sitting MPs and MLAs from opposition parties, including the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to a senior BJP source. The joining will continue till the end of the month — February 29, the source added.
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“Not only MPs and MLAs, but many MLAs who have recently been elected are also set to join the BJP. Mark my words,” the source said.
The joining will happen across political parties.
This development comes close on heels of intense speculation over Congress leader Kamal Nath and his son Nakul joining the saffron bandwagon. On Saturday, Nath kept the speculation going when he told reporters: “I said yesterday that if there is something like that, I will inform you all. I did not talk to anyone.”
The senior BJP source also indicated that an articulate Congress leader, who has been a Union Minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule, has expressed interest. “Humare taraf se abhi batcheet shuru nahi huyi hai,” the source said.
There have been intense speculations about BSP’s Lalganj MP Sangeeta Azad and Ambedkar Nagar MP Ritesh Pandey joining the BJP. Azad hails from a family that had founder members of the BSP.
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The most recent entry into the BJP was Congress’s former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan. The BJP has nominated him for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls. In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18 after the switch, he had said the Maharashtra Congress hardly had any strategy or preparation to face the elections.
The BJP’s two-day National Conclave concluded on Sunday, with the official slogan of ‘Fir Ek Baar, Modi Sarkar’ setting the goal of 370 seats.
