In a significant development, prominent Akali Dal leaders Sardar Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal and Sardar Jasjeet Singh Atwal, along with several other political figures from Punjab, joined the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in the nation’s capital on Sunday. The induction ceremony was held at the party’s national headquarters, where senior BJP members welcomed the new entrants to the saffron camp.
In related news, sources within the BJP revealed that AIADMK leader and former Rajya Sabha member Dr. Maitreyan is also set to join the party later today.
On Saturday, CR Kesavan, the great-grandson of India’s first Indian Governor-General C Rajagopalachari, joined the BJP ranks after resigning from Congress on February 23. Kesavan expressed his disillusionment with the party’s values and principles, stating he could no longer align with what Congress symbolises, stands for, or seeks to propagate.
Kesavan’s resignation came on the heels of Anil Antony’s departure from Congress last month. Antony, the son of former Union minister AK Antony, parted ways with the party to extend support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a controversial BBC documentary series. Anil Antony officially joined the BJP on April 6, in a ceremony attended by Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and V Muraleedharan, Kerala BJP chief K Surendran, and other senior party leaders.
Adding to the list of high-profile defections, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy joined the BJP in the national capital on Friday. Reddy, the last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, was welcomed into the party by Union minister Prahlad Joshi, general secretary Arun Singh, and MP K Laxman during a function at the party headquarters. Reddy had resigned from his position as chief minister on March 10, 2014, in protest of the Congress party’s decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. These developments come ahead of the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for next year, indicating potential shifts in political alliances and voter sentiment.
