New Delhi/Lucknow: In what could be a big jolt to the Congress ahead of the crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, senior party leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi is reportedly all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Ms Joshi is believed to have already met BJP president Amit Shah and other senior leaders to discuss modalities of her switch to the saffron fold. She is currently the MLA from Lucknow Cant.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi may not have much of mass appeal but given that she is well versed with the Congress' strategy and was joining the BJP is undoubtedly a setback for the Sonia Gandhi-led party.
Once the state Congress president, Ms Joshi was sidelined in the party after her brother Vijay Bahuguna Joshi, who was the Chief Minister of the Uttarakhand, joined the BJP from Congress.
Media reports added that Ms Joshi had also held parleys with the Samajwadi Party leadership before deciding to join the BJP.
