A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied him a ticket from Delhi North West constituency, Udit Raj joined the Congress in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi.
After joining the grand old party, Raj posted a tweet thanking Gandhi.
Raj, the sitting MP from Delhi North West constituency, had early on Tuesday announced that he would resign from the party if denied a ticket in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“I am waiting for ticket. If not given to me, I will bid goodbye to party,” Udit Raj tweeted.
In another tweet, the former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, said that he has worked hard for his constituency.
“I still hopeful that I will file nomination from my constituency and BJP where I have worked hard and proved my metal (sic). I hope I will not be forced to leave BJP by BJP itself,” he tweeted.
I am waiting for ticket if not given to me I will do good bye to party
— Dr. Udit Raj, MP (@Dr_Uditraj) April 23, 2019
I still hopeful that I will file nomination from my constituency and BJP where I have worked hard and proved my metal.
I hope I will not be forced to leave BJP by BJP itself
— Dr. Udit Raj, MP (@Dr_Uditraj) April 23, 2019
Later in the day, the BJP announced that it is fielding singer Hans Raj Hans as its North West Delhi candidate for the Lok Sabha elections.
Soon after his name was finalised, Hans Raj Hans filed his nominations. He will contest against Rajesh Lilothia of the Congress and Gugan Singh of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Read More: Udit Raj dumped, Hans Raj Hans BJP North West Delhi candidate
Udit Raj had formed the Indian Justice Party in 2003 after resigning from IRS. In 2014, he merged his party with the BJP and contested the Lok Sabha election from North West Delhi.
On Monday midnight, Raj had reached the Delhi BJP office on Pant Marg accompanied by his supporters who created a ruckus after spotting Hans Raj Hans there.
Raj also said that he tried to speak to BJP chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about his ticket but did not get any response.
“I tried to talk to BJP president Amit Shah many times and sent him SMS as well. I also tried to talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he tweeted.
A vocal supporter of Dalit rights, Raj had often diverged from the views of his party on issues such as Sabarimala and the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by Dalit organisations in 2018.