Jitin Prasada quits Congress, joins BJP - See Pics

Congress leader Jitin Prasada joined the BJP on Wednesday, in a shot in the arm for the saffron party as it prepares for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh scheduled for early next year.

Jitin Prasada joined the BJP in presence of Union Minister Piyush Goyal and its chief spokesperson Anil Baluni.

Welcoming him in the party fold, Goyal heaped praise on him, lauding him as a leader of a stature whose induction will boost the BJP. It will also help him in serving society, the Union Minister added.

After his formal induction into the party, Jitin Prasad met BJP national president JP Nadda and other top leaders. 

The 47-year-old Prasada, a former Union minister, comes from a well-known Brahmin family of Uttar Pradesh and was serving as the Congress leader in-charge of West Bengal before joining the BJP. His father Jitendra Prasada was a noted Congress leader.

Former BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also welcomes Jitin Prasada to the saffron party fold. Shah said that his inclusion will only strengthen the party.

His father Jitendra Prasada, a prominent `Brahmin` face in Uttar Pradesh, had challenged Sonia Gandhi`s leadership in 1999 and had contested against her for the post of party chief. He died in 2002.