Uttar Pradesh/Nagpur: Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi today joined BJP in a setback to party ahead of polls in the state.
Ms Joshi, the daughter of Congress stalwart Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, was the chief of the party in UP.
She joined the BJP in the presence of party president Amit Shah.
The Congress had denied that the 67-year-old Lucknow Cantonment legislator would follow her brother, former party leader and ex-Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, to the BJP.
Ms Bahuguna was said to be unhappy over the party’s choice of Sheila Dikshit, the former Delhi Chief Minister, as the chief ministerial candidate and also felt sidelined after Raj Babbar was named the state chief.
Party vice-president Rahul Gandhi recently concluded a month-long tour of the state to win over farmers, who form a sizable chunk of electorate.
