Former UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna joins BJP

Rita Bahuguna Joshi, former chief from Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, joined the BJP on Thursday, and slammed Rahul Gandhi, saying his leadership was unacceptable to the nation.

“Not just the UP Congress, but the entire nation is unhappy with the leadership of Rahul Gandhi,” Rita said. She drew a parallel between him and his mother Sonia Gandhi’s leadership qualities and claimed that the Congress president was more acceptable to the party leaders and workers.  In the outpour of her disenchantment with the Congress top brass, Rita criticised their political wisdom of making “outsider” Prashant Kishor “election director” for the UP Assembly elections, due early next year, and relegating senior leaders, including her, to act on his command.

“The biggest leaders of the Uttar Pradesh Congress have not been able to act under the new leadership. Soniaji used to listen to us, but that is not happening under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi,” charged Rita.

She also attacked Rahul for his “khoon ki dalali” barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi post the surgical strikes, and said



she felt dejected at the way the national security issue was handled by her former party.

Ending days of speculation, Rita, the 67-year-old daughter of the late Congress leader Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, joined the BJP in the presence of national president Amit Shah at the party’s Ashoka Road headquarters. Her brother and former chief minister of Uttarakhand, Vijay Bahuguna, had crossed over from the Congress to the BJP a few months ago when a botched attempt was made to topple the Harish Rawat government in the hilly state.

Rita’s move is being seen by BJP leaders as an attempt to checkmate the Congress’ chance to reach out to Brahmins ahead of the elections by fielding former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit as its chief ministerial candidate. The Bahuguna family’s traction in Uttarakhand may also help them electorally in the poll-bound state.

Rita, for her part, said she has resigned from the Congress party and has also given up her MLA seat.  Rita, who had spent 24 of her 27-year political career in the Congress, said she felt sidelined by the projection of Sheila.