Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader SM Krishna on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of party president Amit Shah in the national capital. 


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The veteran leader, who left the Congress after nearly 46 years, heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described "the steps as an important step in his onward journey".


At the event attended by several key leaders of the BJP, SM Krishna said, "India has progressed because of the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah".


At 84, the former external affairs minister had left the Congress on January 29 saying the party didn't need him any longer.


"With pain and anguish, I have decided to quit the Congress. I have seen both good and bad and tasted sweetness and bitterness but my loyalty to the party has always been steadfast. But it now seems the Congress is in a confusion whether it needs mass leaders or not. Just managing the situation seems to be good enough," he had said after announcing his decision to quit the party.


Meanwhile, the developement is seen as a big move for the BJP ahead of the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka. 


According to a media report, Krishna had plans to join the saffron party last week. He had reached New Delhi to hold consultations with Amit Shah and to join the party; but had to rush back to Bengaluru after he received the new of death of his sister. 


Krishna, was known to be a trusted aide of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and had served as Karnataka's Chief Minister between 1999 and 2004. He is credited with setting up Bengaluru as the country's IT hub.