Jitin Prasada Dumps Congress for BJP Ahead of 2022 Uttar Pradesh Election

New Delhi:

Former Union Minister Jitin Prasada, who was formerly close to Rahul Gandhi, defected to the BJP today, dealing a crushing blow to Congress ahead of the Uttar Pradesh poll next year. 

The Congress' main Brahmin face in UP, the 47-year-old lawmaker, is departing at a time when the opposition party is meeting in Delhi to try to resolve a rift in Punjab, another state with elections in 2022. 

"I started feeling that I was in a party surrounded by politics. I started feeling that I was not able to contribute or work for the people," stated Jitin Prasada, his saffron scarf signaling his new position. 

"BJP is the only real political party. It's the only national party. The rest are regional. BJP and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi only ones that can meet the challenges the country is facing now," he said.

Although he served in the Cabinet under the UPA era at that time, the former Congressman stated that the switch to the BJP has been on his mind for 10 years.

Mr Prasada is the BJP's second high-profile Rahul Gandhi aide to join the party, following Jyotiraditya Scindia's departure last year. Soon after his departure, there were rumours that another notable "rebel," Rajasthan leader Sachin Pilot, was also on his way out. 

"It's sad that Jitin Prasada has left; he has held important posts," Congress spokesman Supriya Srinate said, criticising his decision to join a party "responsible for the loss of life during Covid." 

Mr Prasada categorically rejected joining the BJP in 2019. According to sources, at the time, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was in charge of rebuilding the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, persuaded him to stay. 

"What's the point in being a party if you can't help the people you represent," Mr Prasada asked.

Only five months ago, he blasted the BJP administration in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly mistreating his friend and fellow Doon School graduate Rahul Gandhi at a march protesting the Hathras rape case.

His dissatisfaction with his 20-year party was well known; he was a member of the "G-23," or group of 23 Congress leaders, who wrote to party boss Sonia Gandhi last year, demanding significant reforms, collaborative decision-making, and "full-time, visible leadership." Following that devastating letter, Mr Prasada was one of the few "dissenters" to be granted any responsibility at all; he was assigned with the Congress' Bengal election campaign, which was a flop. 

He was a former Lok Sabha MP from Dhaurahra in Uttar Pradesh, and he was one of the Congress' top leaders in the country's most populous state. 

Jitin Prasada is a significant value addition for the BJP as its government in Uttar Pradesh, led by Yogi Adityanath, faces criticism for its handling of Covid. 

Mr Prasada's admission is intended to assist the BJP reset the optics of the Yogi Adityanath regime, which is regarded as pro-Thakur (the Chief Minister's caste) by a segment of UP's Brahmins. 

Brahmins account for around 13% of UP voters and are a powerful bloc that has slowly shifted from the Congress to the BJP over the years.

Mr Prasada established a "Brahmin Chetna Parishad" in July of last year, but it had little influence.

However, some members of Congress doubt his relevancy. He lost three elections in a row: the national elections in 2014 and 2019, as well as the UP assembly elections in 2017. 

Some members of the UP Congress have recently turned against him. Following the letter bomb, a state Congress unit urged for action against the G-23, citing Mr Prasada and his family's troubled relationship with the Gandhis. 

Jitendra Prasada, a Congress veteran, had challenged Sonia Gandhi's leadership of the party in 1999, running against her for the position of party president. He passed away in 2002.

Jitin Prasada went on to serve twice as a minister in the Manmohan Singh-led Congress administration and was once regarded one of Rahul Gandhi's confidants.

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