Former Union minister in previous BJP governments and prominent Jat leader from Sikar constituency Subhash Mahariya on Friday quit the Congress party and joined the BJP at a reception function in the party here. He returned to the saffron party after seven years.

Along with Mahariya, former IPS officers Gopal Meena, Ramdev Singh Khairwa, former IAS P R Meena and a doctor, Narsi Kirad, also took primary membership of the BJP in the presence of state party in-charge Arun Singh, party president C P Joshi, Leader of Opposition Rajendra Singh Rathore.

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In his resignation letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Mahariya alleged that after the Congress’ defeat on all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019, the party did not do a single review meeting and the state government had not fulfilled its promises made to farmers, unemployed youths and neglected the party workers in the Jat belt. “I tendered my resignation as it was not possible for me to continue in the Congress party,” he said.

Addressing senior BJP leaders and workers at the joining ceremony, Mahariya expressed his happiness to be back at home. He promised to dedicate his services to the party and do whatever work assigned to him ‘unconditionally’.

Mahariya was Lok Sabha MP from Sikar in 1998, 1999 and 2004. He served as a minister under then A B Vajpayee government. After he lost the 2009 elections from the same constituency, the BJP did not nominate him for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In 2016, he joined Congress and contested the Sikar Lok Sabha seat in 2019 polls, but BJP’s Swami Sumedhanand Sarswati defeated him. He was also vice-president of Kisan Morcha.