Congress leader Jitin Prasada joins the BJP

Jitin Prasada -- once among Rahul Gandhi's inner circle and a two-time minister in the Manmohan Singh-led government -- has left Congress party and on Wednesday joined the BJP in New Delhi. He joined the BJP in the presence of union minister Piyush Goyal at the party headquarters. After accepting the BJP's saffron scarf Jitin Prasad told the media that "I started feeling that I was in a party surrounded by politics. I started feeling that I was not able to contribute and work for the people. I wasn't able to work for the benefit of the people." "I was associated with Congress for three generations. I’ve taken this decision after a lot of thought," he said.

Jitin Prasada said if there was one party in the country that talks in the national interest, then it is the BJP. "If anyone standing with the country and its people in these testing times, then it’s BJP and PM Narendra  Modi. Others have become regional parties," he said. Prasada is the second high-profile former Rahul Gandhi aide to defect to the BJP after Jyotiraditya Scindia left last year. Scndia said, "I’m happy that he is joining the BJP under the leadership of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. He is my younger brother and I’m happy for him."

Jitin Prasada has been facing the heat in Uttar Pradesh Congress after he joined the group of 23 Congress rebels who wrote an explosive letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi questioning the functioning of the party. The local unit of Congress had passed a resolution demanding action against Jitin Prasada and others for allegedly challenging Sonia Gandhi's leadership. Jitin Prasada had been sidelined in the Congress for quite some time.