Jitin Prasada, who switched from the Congress to the BJP three years ago, is the BJP's candidate for the Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency. He replaces Varun Gandhi. Mr Prasada will face Samajwadi Party's Bhagwat Saran Gangwar, a five-time MLA from Nawabganj, and Bahujan Samaj Party's Anis Ahmed Khan.
Here are a few facts about Jitin Prasada:
– Jitin Prasada was born on November 29, 1973, in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to senior Congress leader Jitendra Prasada and his wife Kanta Prasada. He studied at Doon School and later pursued a degree in commerce from the Shri Ram College of Commerce at Delhi University. He completed his MBA from the International Management Institute in New Delhi.
– A prominent Brahmin leader in UP, Jitin Prasada started his political career with the Indian Youth Congress. He made his electoral debut in 2004 and won from the Shahjahanpur seat which was earlier held by his father Jitendra Prasada.
– Jitin Prasada was appointed as the Minister of State for Steel during his first term as an MP, becoming one of the youngest ministers in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. In the 2009 polls, he shifted to Dhaurahra after the Shahjahanpur seat underwent delimitation. He defeated Bahujan Samaj Party's Rajesh Kumar Singh by over 1.8 lakh votes.
– Once considered a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, Jitin Prasada lost three elections on the trot – the 2014 and 2019 general elections, and the UP assembly polls in 2017. Ahead of the 2021 assembly polls in Bengal, Mr Prasada was made in-charge of the party's campaign in the state. The Congress fared very poorly and was unable to win even a single seat.
– In June 2021, he left the Congress to join the BJP ahead of the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Just after joining the BJP, Jitin Prasada said, "I started feeling that I was in a party surrounded by politics. I started feeling that I was not able to contribute or work for the people.”