15 Congress Leaders Join BJP In Jodhpur

Fifteen Congress leaders joined BJP in Jodhpur on Tuesday in the presence of the Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.

While talking to the media, Mr Sharma took a dig at the Congress and said no one wants to be with the party which has no future.

"Earlier it was said that there is a hole in Congress's boat. But now their entire boat is sinking. Who would like to sit in a sinking boat?" he said.

He said that the way they, the Congress leaders, are coming, it seems that not only will the BJP win all 25 seats in the state, but it will do it by a huge margin.

The defectors included Pappuram Dara, Hanuman Singh Khangta, the President of Marwar Rajput Mahasabha and a close aide of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, and Suresh Gurjar, sarpanch from Gotan (Nagaur), and a confidant of Sachin Pilot.

Many leaders, once considered loyalists of Ashok Gehlot, have left the party since the assembly election.

Such leaders include former mayor Rameshwar Dadhich and former RIICO Director (Independent) Sunil Parihar. Besides them, few others have seen to be gradually distancing themselves from the party activities.

On the other hand, former MP and MLA Manvendra Singh Jasol and Sheo MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati also met with the Chief Minister Sharma. They had a brief closed door meeting.

It is being speculated that they too may join the BJP in a day or two.

Ravindra Bhati also accompanied Mr Sharma on the flight to Udaipur, giving rise to the speculations that he is no more a threat to the BJP as he had earlier hinted by announcing he may contest as an independent from Barmer-Jaisalmer Lok Sabha constituency.

"The meeting was positive, and further results will also be positive. I will talk to the people who have brought me here and then I will come before you soon," Ravindra Bhati said.

Before this, Mr Sharma arrived at a hotel along with Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and other leaders and chaired a meeting with the Lok Sabha in-charges, co-in-charges, coordinators, and members of the working committee for Jodhpur, Pali, Barmer-Jaisalmer, and Jalore-Sirohi constituencies.

The meeting, which lasted for about 1 hour, discussed preparations for the Lok Sabha elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)