Congress' Amethi leader Sanjay Sinh to join BJP

In a jolt to the Congress that is facing a leadership crisis, its Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Sinh has quit the party.

A member of the Upper House from Assam, Sinh is set to join the ruling BJP, helping the saffron party grow through aggressive acquisition. Sinh, who hails from Amethi royal family, had in the 1998 won the Amethi Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket, but could not repeat his victory in 1999.

Announcing his decision to join the BJP, Sinh said there is a complete lack of communication in the Congress and the leadership is completely missing.

"Unfortunately, Congress is living in its past and is unaware of the future. I felt that in today's India, PM Narendra Modi is leading country with the vision of 'sabka saath, sabka vishwas'. He is walking the talk and that's why the whole country is with him and so am I," the veteran leader said.

Shrunk to 52 seats in the recent Lok Sabha election, Congress seems to have lost ground across various states. It failed to garner support despite promising to provide financial assistance to the poor.

The party has been facing uncertainty after its President Rahul Gandhi resigned from the post and insisted he would not rethink his despite senior leaders requesting him to be at the helm. With no indications of a replacement in sight, the grip of central leadership is weakening by the days.

On the other hand, rival BJP is being led by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah who are considered strong administrators with a grip on political affairs. Besides the Congress, leaders from other parties are joining the BJP in droves.

Many leaders from the Samajwadi Party, the Telugu Desam Party and the Trinamool Congress have joined the BJP in recent months. SP's Rajya Sabha member Neeraj Shekhar recently joined the BJP. There is possibility that some more Trinamool leaders could join the ruling party before assembly election in West Bengal. IANS