NEW DELHI: What perhaps could not happen in March 2019 materialised on Wednesday when senior Congress leader Jitin Prasada, piloted by railways minister Piyush Goyal, joined the BJP in the party headquarters.
Jitin is believed to have almost quit the Congress and was about to join the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
However, the rebellion was nipped after a car drive he had with the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Son of former Congress leader late Jitendra Prasada, the party’s Brahmin face in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Jitin had contested and won the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Shahjahanpur in the state.
He won the 2009 parliamentary election from Dhaurahra.
However, he lost the two subsequent Lok Sabha elections from the seat and also the 2017 UP assembly polls.
Jitin Prasada’s first rebellionJust ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election there was a strong buzz of Jitin joining the BJP.
He was miffed with the Congress for two reasons – firstly over the party’s bid to field him from Lucknow instead of his chosen constituency of Dhaurahra.
The BJP had fielded Defence minister Rajnath Singh from the UP capital.
Jitin was also peeved over the Congress leadership for fielding Muslim candidates from Kheri and Sitapur which are adjacent to Dhaurahra.
His concern was this would lead to polarisation of votes against him.
There were strong rumours of Jitin quitting the Congress and joining the BJP.
The buzz grew stronger as in its first list of 184 candidates announced on March 21, 2019, the BJP announced Rajnath Singh’s candidature from Lucknow but it did not name any candidate from Dhaurahra.
However, in a half-an-hour car drive with Rahul Gandhi from his official residence in Tughlak Lane to the airport, Jitin Prasada is believed to have changed his mind and decided to stay put in the Congress.
G-23 memberLast year, Jitin Prasada was one of the signatories to a letter written by G-23 – a group of 23 top Congress leaders – to interim president Sonia Gandhi demanding major reforms, collective decision-making and full-time visible leadership.
The Likhimpur Kheri district unit of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) targetted Jitin Prasada, a former Union minister, for being one of the 23 signatories to the letter.
Dhaurahra comes under the Likhimpur Kheri district.
The Lakhimpur Kheri unit of the Congress made special mention of Prasada’s name and said he was the only G-23 member from UP.
Condemning Jitin Prasada’s move, it demanded the strictest possible disciplinary action against him.
However, the Congress leadership sought to placate Prasada by appointing him as a general secretary in-charge of West Bengal.
It is another matter that Prasada contracted COVID-19 ahead of the West Bengal assembly election and BK Hariprasad filled the gap.
Jitendra Prasada’s rebellion against Sonia GandhiWhile demanding action against all the 23 signatories, the Lakhimpur Kheri unit of the Congress had alleged that Prasada had a family history of opposing the Gandhis.
It said Prasada’s father late Jitendra Prasada had given proof (of the family being against the Gandhis) by contesting against Sonia Gandhi.
Jitendra Prasada had contested against Sonia Gandhi for the Congress president’s post in November 2000.
However, he was convincingly defeated in the crucial election.
He died of cerebral haemorrhage a couple of months later.
Setting aside that episode, the Congress gave a ticket to Jitin Prasada in 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Shahjahanpur.
On winning the election, he became one of the youngest Union ministers in the Manmohan Singh government.
He again won in 2009 and remained a central minister.
However, his relations with the Gandhis soured in 2019 when over Congress’s bid to field him from Lucknow against Rajnath Singh in the parliamentary election.
Jitin Prasada had felt sidelined in the party since then.