Several Congress leaders in Rajasthan, including former ministers Rajendra Yadav and Lal Chand Kataria, joined the BJP on Sunday ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Former Congress MLAs Ricchpal Mirdha, Vijaypal Mirdha and Khiladi Bairwa, former independent MLA Alok Beniwal, former state Congress chief Seva Dal Suresh Chaudhary, Rampal Sharma ang Riju Jhunjhunwala among other leaders also joined the ruling party in the state.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, state BJP president C P Joshi and Union minister Bhupendra Yadav welcomed them into the party at its state headquarters here.
Mr Kataria and Mr Yadav were ministers in the previous Congress government headed by Ashok Gehlot. Mr Kataria was also a Union minister of state in the previous UPA government.
Ricchpal Mirdha is the uncle of former Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha, who joined the BJP ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.
Jyoti Mirdha has been named as the BJP's candidate from Nagaur for the Lok Sabha elections. Vijaypal Mirdha is Ricchpal Mirdha's son.
The Mirdha family is considered politically influential in the Jat-dominated Nagaur and nearby areas.
Apart from them, Randhir Singh Bhindar, a former BJP MLA who earlier separated from the party and formed his Janta Sena outfit, also merged with the BJP.
Alok Beniwal is the son of the former governor of Gujarat Kamla Beniwal.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Why BJP Lost Lok Sabha Polls In Uttar Pradesh - 6 Reasons In Party Report Vasundhara Raje, Kirodi Lal Meena Skip Assembly As Rajasthan Budget Unveiled Only 5 BJP MPs Achieve Over 50% Victory Margin In 2024 Lok Sabha Polls Windows Computers Lead To 'Blue Screen Of Death' Due To CrowdStrike Error Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down Microsoft 'Blue Screen Of Death' Outage: Full List Of Services Hit In India PM Modi Hails Lockheed Martin's Make In India, Make For World Drive Study Abroad: Top 10 Management Universities In United Kingdom "Reason Identified, Updates Released": India On Massive Microsoft Outage Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.