Adityanath welcomes Jitin Prasada to BJP, says his inclusion will make party stronger in UP

Hours after Jitin Prasada switched from Congress to Bharatiya Janata Party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday welcomed him into the party, asserting that his inclusion would surely make the BJP stronger in the state.

In a tweet, Adityanath said: " We welcome Jitin Prasad, who has left Congress to join the BJP. His inclusion in the party will definitely strengthen BJP in Uttar Pradesh."

Earlier in the day, Prasada, former MP from Uttar Pradesh's Dharahura, joined the BJP in the presence of Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal at the party headquarters.

This comes ahead of the all-important Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections the next year.

Speaking on the occasion, Prasada said, "I have a three-generation connection with Congress, so I took this important decision after a lot of deliberation. In the last 8-10 years I have felt that if there is one party that is truly national, it is BJP. Other parties are regional but this is the national party."

Prasada started his career with Indian Youth Congress as a general secretary. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 for the first time. He was also a minister in the UPA government at the Centre.

Prasada's departure is a fresh blow to the Congress party after another heavyweight leader of the party Jyotiraditya Scindia had joined the BJP in March 2020.

( With inputs from ANI )