In a significant political development ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls, the Congress party faced another setback as a senior leader switched allegiance to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Vibhakar Shastri, a prominent member of the Congress party and the grandson of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, tendered his resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress. Hours later, he formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak in Lucknow.
Shastri’s move comes on the heels of other notable defections from the Congress camp, including Milind Deora (who joined Shivsena- Eknath Shinde faction), Baba Siddiqui (INC- Ajit Pawar faction), and Ashok Chavan (BJP).
I.N.D.I.A alliance has no ideology
In his first statement to the media, after joining the BJP, the former Congress leader took a sharp dig on opposition led I.N.D.I.A. alliance, he said, “I will work as per the directions of the party leadership… INDIA alliance has no ideology but aims to remove Modi ji…Rahul ji should tell what is even Congress’ ideology…”
Further hailing PM Modi’s leadership, “I think under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, I will be able to serve the country by further strengthening Lal Bahadur Shastri’s vision of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan.”
Congress releases first list of Rajya Sabha Candidates
Meanwhile, the INC on Wednesday announced the first list of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha Biennial Elections to be held in various states.
According to an official release, Congress has approved the candidature of Sonia Gandhi from Rajasthan and Dr. Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Bihar. The party also gave nod to Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s candidature from Himachal Pradesh and Chandrakant Handore from Maharashtra.
