In this election season, parties are seeking to create political momentum for themselves through high-profile inductions. Both Congress and BJP have seen leaders from other parties joining them, and both the parties appears to have an edge in the political game playing out ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Politicians who switched sides are
Shatrughan Sinha: Recently, Rebel BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and will formally join the party on April 6. Sinha is likely to be fielded again from his Patna Sahib constituency. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from the seat.
Kharavela Swain: Kharavela Swain, a former BJP MP who rejoined the party, will contest from the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat in Odisha. Swain, President of the Utkal Bharat, was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice as a BJP member.
Prakash Mishra: Former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra will fight from the Cuttack parliamentary constituency. His candidature was announced a day after he joined the saffron camp.
Jaya Prada: Former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Jaya Prada too joined the BJP on Tuesday and has been given ticket from Rampur parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh denying ticket to outgoing MP Nepal Singh.
In West Bengal, several Trinamool Congress leaders including its MPs have joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Saumitra Khan and Anupam Hazra: Trinamool MPs Saumitra Khan and Anupam Hazra joined the BJP after being expelled from the party. Its four-time legislator Arjun Singh also joined the BJP and have been fielded from Barrackpore against former Railway Minister and Trinamool heavyweight Dinesh Trivedi.
Dulal Bar and Khagen Murmu: Congress MLA Dulal Bar, Khagen Murmu of CPI-M and former Odisha Minister Damodar Rout are also among those who have joined the BJP in the run-up to the general elections 2019.
Ranbir Singh Gangwa and Kehar Singh and others: Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLAs Ranbir Singh Gangwa and Kehar Singh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Chandraprakash Mishra, former Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman K.S. Radhakrishnan, Congress MLA from Odisha Prakash Chandra Behera, former MP and Congress leader Arvind Sharma, Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Major Surendra Punia have also thrown in their lot behind the BJP.
The party has also seen some inductions in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Goa.
