Rita Bahuguna Joshi, former UP state president from Indian National Congress, is believed to quit the party and is likely to join the BJP. Rumours have surrounded Rita Bahuguna Joshi since a few media reports have been saying she is joining BJP and has already met party president Amit Shah in this regard.
According to media reports, ever since her brother and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna Joshi switched over to the BJP, she was sidelined. However, Vijay Bahuguna denied these reports.
Though, if Rita Bahuguna joins BJP, it will be a major setback for Congress which is eager to revive its fortune in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 Assembly elections. The MLA from Lucknow Cantt. is a veteran Congress leader.
Notably, Joshi, former Uttar Pradesh Congress president, younger sister of Vijay Bahuguna, former Uttarakhand chief minister, was assigned the task by the Congress high command to persuade her elder brother Bahuguna not to align with the opposition BJP and return home with dignity.
In 2012, the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi offered to resign owning moral responsibility for the poll debacle. Even in Amethi and Rae Bareli, the strongholds of Gandhi family, the results were a surprising to the party as it managed to win only two of the ten Assembly seats.
A Congress stalwart in Uttar Pradesh, Joshi was presumed to be a key player in party’s Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s team. If she joins BJP, the party will have a shot in the arm as Joshi knows UP politics like the palm of her hand and her knowledge can prove to be cutting-edge.
Rita Bahuguna’s father late HN Bahuguna led undivided Uttar Pradesh in the 70s and is still revered as a leader of the masses. Among the children of HN Bahuguna, the first to enter politics was Rita. It was Rita who guided Vijay’s transformation from a judge to a hard-nosed politician. Rita is said to have enjoyed a good rapport with the Congress first family.
As of now, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has inducted 10 MLAs from BSP, three from Congress and one from ruling SP and reports are saying, many more will join BJP.
