CONG LEADERS DREAM BIG, JUMP SHIP TO JOIN BJP

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This week, the Congress got a big blow in the southern belt where party leaders in Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Kerala hopped to the BJP on 3 days in row

Moni Sharma

New Delhi: Ever since Narendra Modi emerged as the top and the most popular leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the national scenario, Congress has been facing a daunting task to make its presence feel across the country. The grand old party has been termed as a ‘sinking ship’ by several political pundits and saffron party leaders which is not even able to keep its

LIST OF INFLUENTIAL CONGRESS LEADERS WHO JOINED BJP l Jyotiraditya Scindia l Ghulam Nabi Azad l Himanta Biswa Sarma l Kapil Sibal l Amarinder Singh l Sunil Jakhar l Hardik Patel l Jitin Prasada l RPN Singh flock together.

In a latest setback for the Congress, former Defence Minister AK Antony’s son Anil An - tony joined the BJP on April 6 and slammed the leadership of the grand old party for “serving the interests of a single family” instead of working for the nation. Besides Antony’s son, Kiran Reddy, CR Kesavan too jumped to the BJP in last 3 days, also several influential leaders of Congress have deserted the party and joined the Saffron camp or formed a new political party in the last few years.

CR KESAVAN

The latest addition to the saffron party is former Congress leader CR Kesavan, the great grandson of the country’s first Indian GovernorGeneral C Rajagopalachari, who joined the BJP on Saturday. Kesavan had resigned from the Congress in February, saying that he had “not seen any of the vestiges of the values that made him work for the party for over two decades.”

KIRAN REDDY

Former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday, less than a month after he resigned from the Congress. Reddy, who was the last chief minister of Andhra Pradesh before its bifurcation in 2014, had resigned from the Congress party on March 12, the second time in nine years.

ANIL ANTONY

More than two months after he resigned from his positions in the Congress following a controversy over his comments on a BBC documentary on the Gujarat riots, former Union defence minister AK Antony’s son Anil K Antony found joined the BJP on Thursday.

BJP hopes

Anil’s addition to the party will boost its prospects among Kerala’s Christians, a community it has been trying to woo.