Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh joined BJP on Monday. With this, he also merged his party with BJP. Captain Amarinder Singh is not the first former CM who has recently joined the BJP. Earlier, former Goa CM Digambar Kamat and former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna have also joined BJP.
Amarinder Singh joined BJP in the presence of Union Ministers Narendra Tomar and Kiren Rijiju. Earlier, he met BJP National President JP Nadda. Amarinder Singh was the CM of Punjab twice. He was the Chief Minister from 2002 to 2007 and again from March 2017 to September 2021. After this, he left the Congress and formed his own party Punjab Lok Congress. He merged it with BJP on Monday. However, his party did not get a single seat in the last election.
Which former CMs joined BJP?
SM Krishna: Former Karnataka CM SM Krishna joined BJP in 2017. He was the CM of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004. He was in Congress then. After this he was also a Union Minister and Governor.
Digambar Kamat- Digambar Kamat has recently joined BJP including 8 Congress MLAs. He was the CM of Goa from 2007 to 2012.
Former Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane left Shiv Sena and joined BJP. He had joined BJP before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He was the CM of Maharashtra from 1 February 1999 to 17 October 1999 after the resignation of Manohar Joshi.
- Vijay Bahuguna- The 6th CM of Uttarakhand, Vijay Bahuguna left Congress and joined BJP. He was the CM of Uttarakhand from March 2012 to January 2014.
- N Kiran Reddy- Former Congress leader Kiran Reddy was the 16th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He was the CM of the state from 2010 to 2014. After that he joined BJP.
- Narayan Dutt Tiwari- Narayan Dutt Tiwari, an old Congress leader and three-time CM of Uttar Pradesh and later the CM of Uttarakhand, joined BJP in 2017. He was the CM of UP from 1976 to 1977, 1984 to 1985 and 1988 to 1989. After this he was the CM of Uttarakhand from 2002 to 2007.
Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu left Congress and joined BJP. In 2016, he joined the PPA, an ally of the BJP, along with 43 MLAs. Later he became the CM of the state.
N Biren Singh joined the BJP in October 2016 after revolting from Manipur’s Congress Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh. Later he became the CM of Manipur.
Former Jharkhand CM Babulal Marandi merged his party Jharkhand Vikas Morcha with BJP in February 2020. He was the first CM of Jharkhand (from November 2000 to March 2003). Later he resigned from the BJP and formed his new party.
These big leaders also joined
Apart from these former Chief Ministers, many big leaders of Congress and other parties have joined BJP in recent years. These include Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN Singh, Jitin Prasad. Former Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sarma was a minister in the Assam government, he later joined the BJP and became the CM of the state. Apart from this, leaders like TMC leaders Suvendhu Adhikari, Kuldeep Bishnoi, Khushboo Sundar, Satyapal Maharaj, Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Jagdambika Pal, Gaurav Bhatia also joined BJP from other parties.