Former Mayor of Jaipur, Jyoti Khandelwal, and former MLAs Chandrashekhar Baid and Nandlal Poonia were among half a dozen Congress leaders who joined the Opposition BJP here on Saturday, ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly election. BJP State in-charge Arun Singh said the party was going to win the polls with a “historic margin”.
Others who joined the BJP after leaving the ruling Congress were Rajasthan Heritage Promotion & Protection Authority’s vice-chairman Sanwarmal Maharia, Congress block president from Laxmangarh Jitendra Singh, former students’ union president at Jodhpur’s Jai Narain Vyas University Ravindra Singh Bhati, and Hari Singh Saharan, who contested the Assembly polls twice as an Independent at Mandawa.
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Former Indian Police Service officers Kesar Singh Shekhawat and Bhim Singh Bika also joined the BJP at the function, where Mr. Arun Singh, BJP State president C.P. Joshi and Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore were present. Aam Aadmi Party leaders Jaipal Singh Mandota, Dharmendra Singh Rathore and Somendra Singh Chauhan also joined the BJP on the occasion.
Ms. Khandelwal, considered to be close to former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, was the Congress candidate from Jaipur in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. She said that honest and dedicated party workers were sidelined in the Congress, while the party’s top leadership was not willing to resolve the issues.
Mr. Joshi said the supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies and ideology were increasing in the country and the people were expressing confidence in his guarantees. “All of this is creating panic in the Congress camp. Those feeling uncomfortable in Congress are switching over to the BJP,” he said.
