Former Union minister Jitin Prasada switches from Congress to BJP

In a blow to the 'young' coterie of leaders surrounding Rahul Gandhi in the Congress, Jitin Prasada, who was a minister in the Manmohan Singh government, joined the BJP on Wednesday.

Jitin Prasada was spotted arriving at the residence of Railways Minister Piyush Goyal in Delhi. He also, reportedly, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah before proceeding to the BJP headquarters to formally join the party in the presence of Goyal.

Jitin Prasada served in multiple portfolios such as minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, road transport and highways and human resources development during the two terms of the Manmohan Singh government.

Jitin was the son of late Congress strongman Jitendra Prasada, who had advised Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao during their tenures as prime minister.

Jitin Prasada was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, a constituency represented by his father multiple times. In 2009, he was elected from Dhaurara constituency. In 2014, he lost from Dhaurara to a BJP candidate, Rekha Verma. In the 2019 election, Verma won from Dhaurara again, pushing Jitin Prasada to third place.

There had been reports that Jitin Prasada was unhappy in the Congress since the time of the 2019 elections. Jitin Prasada was among the 'dissident' leaders of the Congress (informally called the G-23) who had been demanding reforms in the party.

There is speculation that Jitin Prasada could play a role in the 2022 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.