Vibhakar Shastri, the grandson of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak.
Shastri resigned from the Congress party’s primary membership ahead of Lok Sabha polls earlier in the day.
After joining the saffron party, Vibhakar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and other leaders of the party for providing him a chance to connect with Lal Bahadur Shastri’s vision of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’.
“I think under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, I will be able to serve the country by further strengthening Lal Bahadur Shastri’s vision of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’,” he said.
“We also want that under the leadership of PM Modi, we become a developed nation, and the largest economy of the world,” he added.
Earlier, Shastri informed about leaving the grand old party through a post on the social media platform, X.
“Hon’ble Congress President Shri @kharge ji! Respected Sir, I hereby tender my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress (@INCIndia). Regards Vibhakar Shastri,” he posted.
Vibhakar Shastri had fought and lost from the Fatehpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket.
Earlier, former Congress leader Ashok Chavan resigned from the grand old party on Monday and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday, asserting to work for the “constructive development of Maharashtra”.
Calling it a “new beginning” in his political career, Ashok Chavan said, “Today it’s a new beginning of my political career. I am formally joining the BJP in their office today. I am hopeful that we will work for the constructive development of Maharashtra.”
Chavan was the third big name to desert the Congress ship in Maharashtra. First to go was former South Mumbai MP Milind Deora, followed by former MLA Baba Siddique.
