Jagdambika Pal, actor Raju Srivastava join BJP

Former Congress leader Jagdambika Pal on Wednesday joined BJP along with stand-up comedian Raju Srivastava.

Mr. Pal, who was welcomed into the party fold by BJP president Rajnath Singh, said he was keen to contest the Lok Sabha election but left the final decision on the party’s Central Election Committee.

Known as the one-day Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Pal is keen to contest from Domariyaganj, the constituency from where he won on a Congress ticket in the last election.

Mr. Rajnath Singh, while handing over membership slip to Mr. Pal, said he has quit his primary membership of Congress as well as the Lok Sabha seat.

When asked about reasons for quitting, Mr. Pal claimed there was a “communication gap” between the new and the old generation leaders in Congress.

In an oblique reference to Rahul Gandhi, he said there was a “disconnect between the young leaders and the veterans.”

A section of BJP leaders feel Mr. Pal should not be allowed to contest from Domariyaganj as he was an “outsider.”

Mr. Srivastava, who was offered a ticket from the Kanpur seat by Samajwadi Party, said he was not keen to contest and will do party work as entrusted to him. He said he would willingly campaign for BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. SP had later withdrawn Mr. Srivastava’s candidature from Kanpur.