Major Jolt To Congress, G23 Dissenter Jitin Prasada Joins BJP

Earlier today, BJP MP and spokesperson Anil Baluni in a Twitter post announced that an "eminent" personality will join the party today at 1 pm at the party headquarters in Delhi. 

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New Delhi: In a dramatic shift, Jitin Prasada, part of Congress' G23 Dissenters, is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday afternoon in presence of party president JP Nadda at its headquarters in Delhi.

Earlier today, BJP MP and spokesperson Anil Baluni in a Twitter post announced that an "eminent" personality will join the party today at 1 pm at the party headquarters in Delhi. 

"An Eminent personality will join BJP today (Wednesday) 09 June, 1 PM at BJP HQ, 6A DDU Marg, New Delhi," Anil Baluni tweeted. 

Jitin's move to join the saffron party could be a significant gain for the BJP ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls which are due in February next year. Prasada is a known Brahmin face in Central UP. 

However, his shift is being seen a major jolt to Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi as the former Union minister and two-time Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh was considered to be one of the core team members of the Congress. 

Born in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 48-year-old Jitin Prasad is the son of late Congress leader and Union Minister Jitendra Prasad. Prasad started his political career in the year 2001 as General Secretary with Youth Congress, a youth organization of Congress. In 2004, he won his first Lok Sabha election from his home district Shahjahanpur.

In his first term, Jitin Prasada was made the Minister of State for Steel in the Congress government. He was one of the youngest ministers in the Manmohan Singh government. In the year 2009, he contested from Dharaura.