A day after Senior Congress leader and two-time Lok Sabha MP Jitin Prasada, who is considered to be very close to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, was rumoured to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, sources suggest that the former minister of state for Human Resources is likely to contest from Lucknow.
Jitin Prasada was a Member of Parliament for the 15th Lok Sabha from Dhaurahra constituency, a seat which he had won by 184,509 votes, before languishing at 4th place in the subsequent elections. Jitin is the son of Jitendra Prasada, former Vice-President of the Indian National Congress who was also the Political Advisor to Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao. His grandfather Jyoti Prasada was a Congress party member and had served legislative, local body positions.
Prasada had also lost the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections by 5,700 votes from the Tilhar constituency in his home district of Shahjahanpur.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had reported asked him to contest from Lucknow seat. The saffron party on Thursday fielded Home Minister Rajnath Singh from the constituency, while Congress has, according to sources, offered miffed leader to contest from Lucknow seat considering the caste factor.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had earlier rubbished the rumours of Prasad being upset with the party leadership. “I have known Jitin Prasada for a long time. I don’t generally use such words but the reports of Jitin Prasada joining BJP are bullshit,” Surjewala had said on Friday after the rumours emerged.
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