'BJP MP Kirti Azad leaves party, to join Congress on February 15', sources reveal

Azad has remained cornered inside the saffron party since long , largely, for his dispute with Arun Jaitley over DDCA corruption allegations.

Image: PTI

New Delhi: With just a couple of months left for Lok Sabha polls, rebel BJP leader Kirti Azad is most likely to join the opposition party Congress on February 15. A source close to Azad has revealed that he may get officially registered at 11 am on coming Friday at the party headquarters in Delhi. Azad is a Member of Parliament from Bihar’s Darbhanga. He has successfully contested elections from his seat three times in a row to get elected to the Parliament. Azad has been cornered inside the saffron party since long. His feud with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is no longer a matter within the party. He had alleged corruption and irregularities in Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) under the premiership of Jaitley. In 2015, BJP had been stripped of all responsibilities by the saffron party. Kirti has been vocal in criticising the policies of Modi government over a long time. He had launched an attack on PM Modi recently and said that the party only indulges in “jumlebaazi”. He also criticised the party for including the Ram Temple issue in its manifesto. He said that the party has made a mockery of the faith of crores of Hindus in the country. He had also slammed the ruling party for targeting the first PM of India Pandit Nehru and the assassinated former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajeev Gandhi. He also said that despite not being in a war, the soldiers of India are dying. Kirti Azad is the son of former Bihar CM Bhagwat Jha Azad. He is a three time parliamentarian from Darbhanga. He was a part of the 1983 World Cup winning Indian cricket team. He started his political career in 1993 from Delhi’s Gol Market area in state assembly polls. In 1998 he contested successfully for the first time from Darbhanga.