Months ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election 2017, the former state party chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, resulting into a big blow to the Congress.
The probabilities of her joining the BJP seen after she ended her Twitter hiatus and praised the Modi Government for the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army on the terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
With BJP President Amit Shah on her side, in a press conference, Joshi said, “This was the difficult decision. I have served Congress for 24 years. I have taken this decision for the benefit of the nation.”
She further added, “When the whole world was accepted that we carried out the surgical strikes, I didn’t like it when Congress and other parties questioned it.”
She also attacked Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his ‘khoon ki dalali’ remark.
Although Joshi has been seen as a major face, according to the experts, she will definitely cut the Brahmin votes of Congress’s chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit as Brahmins are seen as an important vote bank in UP, where BJP, Samajwadi Party and BSP seem locked in a close contest for the assembly polls due next year.
By Prajakt K
