Shatrughan Sinha quits BJP on foundation day, joins Congress, likely to contest from Bihar’s Patna Sahib

Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday joined the Congress party. Sinha is likely to contest from Patna Sahib seat against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ravi Shankar Prasad. “I saw democracy changing into a dictatorship in the BJP…It has become a one-man party and two-man show," Sinha said while joining the Congress. Commenting about his decision to quit BJP, Sinha said “BJP started disowning me gradually. I was not heard at all. When I tried, I was told to contact Amit Shah directly. Nobody else was willing to lend his ears to my grievances,” he said.

“We welcome Shatrughan Sinha into the Congress,” said Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala who was present at the occasion. Sinha is a two-term BJP Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib. Describing himself a great admirer of Nehru-Gandhi family, Shatrughan had earlier met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Shatrughan Sinha had said the announcement would be made on the auspicious occasion of Navratra’.

The development came after Shatrughan, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was denied party ticket from Patna Sahib parliamentary constituency in Bihar. He is currently the sitting Member of Parliament from the seat.

“Democracy within the BJP does not exist any longer. Dictatorship prevails instead. That's why I have decided to join the Congress Party during the auspicious period of Navaratri,” he had said.

Associated with the BJP since the 1990s, Sinha fell out with the party's leadership in the recent past, complaining it has become a "one-man show and two-man army"-- a reference apparently to the Prime Minister and his trusted aide and party president Amit Shah.

In a series of stinging tweets, , Sinha, ccused PM Modi of ‘arrogance’ and ‘EVM misuse’ and advised him to ‘go for a real press conference’ and take questions from journalists "who cannot be bought and can question you in the larger interest of the nation".

"Honourable outgoing Sirji. Why are you wasting so much money on different channels and on the paid and choreographed crowd who chant your name at any given time - during, before and after your speeches on the signal of the conductors. Your speeches lack content and depth these days and have gone to the extent of becoming highly repetitive and irritating," the actor tweeted.

"Sirji, I still remain your well-wisher despite your EVM misuse and in spite of all your arrogance. My humble suggestion for you at this eleventh hour would be to become straight and go straight. Don't hire or go for paid channels. Instead go for a real and genuine Press Conference with people who cannot be bought, who can question you in the larger interest of the nation," he said in another tweet.