Congress veteran Rajendra Tripathi, RLD's Munideb Sharma and others join BJP ahead of UP elections

On Friday, Congress veteran and former state Home Minister Rajendra Tripathi, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) General Secretary Munideb Sharma, former Indian Police Service (IPS) Gurbachan Lal as well as Samajwadi Party founding member Attari Kunwar Balbir Singh joined BJP.

Lucknow: With leaders continuing to switch sides ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls in 2022, on Friday, Congress veteran and former state Home Minister Rajendra Tripathi, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) General Secretary Munideb Sharma, former Indian Police Service (IPS) Gurbachan Lal as well as Samajwadi Party founding member Attari Kunwar Balbir Singh joined BJP.

The aforementioned turned to the ruling party in presence of BJP state vice president Dayashankar Singh.

The recent switchovers to the ruling dispensation gather significance. Tripathi, a veteran Congress leader as well as a three-time MLA from the Handia assembly seat, who has previously worked as the Home and the Forest Minister of Uttar Pradesh, said that he joined BJP after being impressed with the surgical strike.

Among other notable leaders, NLD General Secretary Munideb Sharma and BSP leader Gurubachan Lal also joined the ruling party.

Ex IPS officer and BSP leader Gurubachan Lal too joined BJP.

Dayashankar Singh, meanwhile, said that the recent entrants were due to well-rounded governance and policies of the Uttar Pradesh administration.

"People from other parties are coming to BJP after being influenced by the policies of PM Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath", Singh said, adding that BJP's victory in UP in 2022 would be bigger than its 2017 victory in the state.

Singh also requested the new members to contact their respective district presidents and to get to work as soon as possible, in order to make the party victorious in the 2022 elections.