Former Haryana Congress leader Kiran Choudhury and her daughter Shruti Choudhury along with their supporters joined the BJP in New Delhi on Wednesday, a move ahead of the state assembly elections due later this year.
Kiran and Shruti on Tuesday resigned as core members of the party, alleging that the state unit was being run as a “private fief”, in an apparent reference to former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Kiran Chowdhury is the daughter-in-law of former Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal and the current Member of Parliament from Tosham in Bhiwani district. Shruti Chowdhury is the current President of the Haryana unit of the Indian National Congress.
“Now I too am being painted saffron. But this colour was also Chaudhary Bansi Lal’s colour,” Kiran Chaudhary said at a joint press conference with BJP leaders after joining the party.
“We merged the Haryana Vikas Party into the Indian National Congress 20 years ago. Today, I call on you to let go of the Indian National Congress flag, take up the Bharatiya Janata Party flag and push forward till the last moment to ensure that the Bharatiya Janata Party wins a landslide victory for a third consecutive term in the Haryana Assembly elections,” she said in a message to supporters who had gathered in large numbers to watch the induction ceremony.
“Our work begins from today. We will take on the name of Chaudhry Bansi Lal, work on BJP policies, praise top BJP leaders and visit every nook and corner of Haryana. This will be our true tribute to Chaudhry Bansi Lal and Chaudhry Surendra Singh,” she added.
The duo joined the BJP at the party headquarters in Delhi in the presence of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, party national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and other senior leaders.
Kiran Choudhury said she joined the BJP after being inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s work, pointing out that the people have seen his work and given him the mandate for three consecutive terms. “Once again, the people have given him the responsibility to fulfil their resolve to make India a developed country by 2047,” she said.
She assured BJP leaders that she and her daughter Shruti would work “like grassroots activists” to strengthen the party in Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.
“We are ready,” Shruti said, adding that she joined the BJP after being impressed by the party’s policies and the “historic decisions” taken by Prime Minister Modi over the past decade.
