bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Udit Raj joined the Congress on Wednesday, a day after he was denied ticket by the party. Udit Raj, who is a BJP MP from North-West Delhi Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday had removed the “chowkidar” prefix from his name on Twitter. The BJP has announced singer Hans Raj Hans’ candidature from North-West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.
A day after the BJP refused to give him ticket and fielded singer Hans Raj Hans from his seat, Udit Raj left the part to join the Congress. The party took to Twitter on Wednesday to welcome Udit Raj. “Congress President @RahulGandhi welcomes Shri Udit Raj into the Congress party,” it said on Twitter with a photo of Rahul Gandhi and Udit Raj.
On Tuesday Udit Raj had removed “chowkidar” from his Twitter handle and tweeted: “I am waiting for ticket if not given to me I will do good bye to party [BJP]. I am still hopeful that I will file nomination from my constituency and BJP where I have worked hard and proved my metal. I hope I will not be forced to leave BJP by BJP itself.”
In 2014, Udit Raj had merged his Indian Justice Party with the BJP ahead of the general elections. He was fielded from the North West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
The former BJP MP had often held views contrary to the party’s stand, especially during the Sabarimala issue and ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by Dalit organisations last year.
Earlier this month, he was at the centre of controversy after being caught in a sting done on several MPs, which purportedly showed lawmakers accepting use of black money for contesting polls.
