Lok Sabha Election 2019: Tom Vadakkan to Biswajit Chatterjee, top leaders who joined BJP

Lok Sabha Election 2019: Tom Vadakkan to Biswajit Chatterjee, top leaders who joined BJP

In a major setback to Rahul Gandhi, several Congress leaders have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The first phase will be held on April 11, second on April 18, third on April 23 and fourth on April 29, fifth on May 6, sixth on May 12 and seventh phase on May 19. Counting of votes for all seven phases would be done on May 23. Senior Congress leader and close aide of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Tom Vadakkan joined the BJP today. He joined the saffron party in the presence of Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Here are some Opposition leaders who have joined BJP in recent days.

Tom Vadakkan

Tom Vadakkan: The voice of Congress for last 15 years, Vadakkan has been known as close confidant of Sonia Gandhi. In fact, he was the man who witnessed the change of guard at 24, Akbar road in 1998. A staunch Congress supporter, Vadakkan was chosen by Sonia Gandhi to send out the message of her willingness to enter active politics Vadakkan was summoned by Sonia’s office to “carry an important message” to then party chief Sitaram Kesri.

Arjun Singh

Arjun Singh: Trinamool Congress is witnessing a mass exodus. After Anupam Hazra, another Trinamool Congress leader Arjun Singh joined BJP in Delhi. A prominent Hindi belt leader in West Bengal, Singh’s entry in BJP can translate into big victory in Mamata Banerjee’s home turf.

Anupam Hazra

Anupam Hazra: Expelled Trinamool Congress MP Anupam Hazra on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in presence of party's general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal affairs Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy in the national capital.

Sujay Vikhe-Patil

Sujay Vikhe-Patil: He is son of Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly. After joining the BJP, Sujay Vikhe Patil said, “I've taken this decision against my father’s wishes. I don’t know how much my parents will support this decision, but I'll try my best to make my family proud by working under the guidance of BJP. CM & other BJP MLAs were supportive & helped me take the decision.”

Biswajit Chatterjee

Biswajit Chatterjee: The 83-year-old Chatterjee is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections from West Bengal, where the BJP has been looking for some prominent faces. He had contested the 2014 general elections from New Delhi as a Trinamool Congress candidate against Congress' Ajay Maken and BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi, but finished 7th, securing only 909 votes.