Jaipur, March 11 (IANS) Expressing their support for the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as many as 1,370 former ministers, MLAs, pradhans, Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti members from various political parties in Rajasthan joined the ruling BJP on Sunday.
The membership programme was organised in the presence of BJP state President C.P. Joshi and Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.
Congress leaders who joined the BJP included former Union Minister Lalchand Kataria, former MP and Minister Khiladi Lal Bairwa, former Minister Rajendra Yadav and former MLA Richpal Mirdha.
Janata Sena President Randhir Singh Bhinder, Deependra Kanwar Bhinder, Alok Beniwal, and Vijaypal Singh Mirdha, among others, also joined the state’s ruling party.
Addressing the programme, BJP state chief Joshi said that many politicians, retired administrative officers, and those associated with social concerns of the state have been influenced by the customs and policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“I welcome everyone to the BJP family and have full confidence that all of us will help the lotus bloom on all the 25 Lok Sabha seats of the state. We will play an important role in achieving the target of over 400 seats.”
Addressing the programme, the Chief Minister said that the aim of the BJP is to provide welfare to the person standing at the last.
“I congratulate and welcome all the senior leaders who are going to join the BJP family,” he said.
Former Union Minister Kataria said that his conscience was troubling him for a long time. “Based on my conscience, I have decided to join the BJP family under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. I assure you I have joined the BJP as a worker and not as a leader,” he added.
Former MLA Mirdha said that the Congress has sunk and there is no leader in the party as its members worked to bring down the leaders.
Former MP Bairwa said that he decided to join the BJP because during the previous Congress government, he had asked CM Ashok Gehlot to work on giving constitutional status to the Scheduled Caste Board but it did not happen.
Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, Deputy CM Diya Kumari, former Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, former MP Jyoti Mirdha, state Minister Omkar Singh Lakhawat, and BJP state Vice President Mukesh Dadhich, among others, were also present at the event.
