Lok Sabha elections: Krishna Kumar, former Congress MP from Kollam, joins BJP

Former Union minister and Kerala leader S Krishna Kumar, who was in the Congress, today joined the BJP, saying that he wanted to work to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Krishna Kumar joined the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in the presence of former Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain and BJP's spokesperson Anil Baluni. ANI Photo

NEW DELHI: In a major jolt to the Congress, the party's three-time MP from Kollam in Kerala, S. Krishna Kumar, on Saturday joined the BJP here. Kumar joined the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in the presence of former Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain and BJP's spokesperson Anil Baluni. Speaking to the media, Kumar said: "I was associated with Rajiv Gandhi. And I was sad the way treatment was meted out to former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao." "He (Rao) was not given a decent burial and even his remains were not kept at the Congress headquarters for the public," he said. Kumar said Modi has been working to develop India and he should continue to lead the country. "My motive for the rest of my life is to strengthen hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who I think the people of India should give a mandate not only for five years but for another 10 years. By this time, he will modernise the nation and take it to the forefront," he said. Kumar was elected to the Lok Sabha three times during 80s and 90s, and was also a minister in the then Congress governments at the Centre.