In a significant political development, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bhopal on Saturday. The move comes as a major setback for the Congress leadership in Madhya Pradesh just before the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Pachouri, previously a close associate of the Gandhi family, held the position of Union Minister of State for Defence (Defence Production and Supplies) and served as a four-time Rajya Sabha member for the Congress. Expressing his dissatisfaction with the Congress, Pachouri criticized the party for shifting from its earlier stance on a casteless and classless society to emphasizing caste divisions, leading to increased conflict in the country.
Upon joining the BJP, Pachouri remarked, “Congress is now talking about the caste divide, which resulted in increasing caste conflict in the country now.”
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan welcomed Pachouri into the BJP, highlighting that the move was unconditional. Chouhan stated, “Pachouri ji joined the BJP without setting any conditions. When Pachouri ji was asked about it, he said Congress has become irrelevant and doesn’t have leadership and policy. He wanted to serve the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.”
Reacting to the Congress’s loss of a prominent member before the general elections, Chouhan attributed it to the party’s ‘lack of leadership.’ Speaking to reporters, Chouhan, who is contesting in the Lok Sabha elections from Vidisha, expressed concern over the Congress’s state, stating, “It seems Rahul Gandhi will breathe easy only after finishing off the Congress. The Congress appears to be on the verge of extinction due to its rudderless and directionless state. All good leaders in the Congress are fed up with the party’s current situation.”
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