After being denied ticket from the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) for the Delhi North West constituency, Udit Raj joined Congress Party today in the presence of Congress President Rahul Gandhi. During the media briefing, Raj said that he wanted to join Congress since 2012.
Congress President @RahulGandhi welcomes Shri Udit Raj into the Congress party. pic.twitter.com/EZi9gygbyu
— Congress (@INCIndia) April 24, 2019
A miffed Raj while addressing the media after joining the Congress accused the BJP of being anti-Dalit. “BJP is an anti-Dalit group which uses internal surveys to choose its candidate”, he said.
पार्टी क्यों नहीं टिकट दे रही। मैंने इतना अच्छा काम किया है। पार्टी क्या दलित विरोधी है? पूरे देश में मुझसे बड़ा दलित नेता कौन है। जितने इनके कैंडिडेट लड़ रहे हैं, उनके जितनी मेरे अकेले की ताकत है : @Dr_Uditraj, #BJP सांसद pic.twitter.com/PFFcvJ6rD7
— NBT Dilli (@NBTDilli) April 22, 2019
Raj removed the prefix Chowkidar from his Twitter handle soon after joining the Congress. He said he would snatch at least 10-15 seats from the BJP. “I was one of the best performing MPs for BJP, I was a popular figure. But I was accused of influencing Dalits. I will snatch at least 10-15 seats from BJP now”.
Although Udit Raj has accused BJP of being anti-Dali for denying him the ticket, the fact is that Delhi North West is a reserved constituency for SCs. Which means an upper caste candidate can’t contest from this seat. In place of Udit Raj, BJP has fielded singer Hans Raj Hans, who is also a Dalit. Hans Raj Hans belongs to the Valmiki community, which is recognised as a Scheduled Caste.
Raj had earlier threatened to quit the party if he was denied ticket by the party.
I am waiting for ticket if not given to me I will do good bye to party
— Dr. Udit Raj, MP (@Dr_Uditraj) April 23, 2019
He had tweeted: “I am waiting for ticket if not given to me I will do good bye to party”. Raj had merged his Justice Party with BJP back in 2014 and had successfully contested for North West Delhi.
