Ex-Cong MP Naveen Jindal joins BJP, to contest from Kurukshetra

Industrialist and former Congress MP Naveen Jindal and independent MLA from Haryana Ranjit Chautala joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday and were named as the party's candidates from Kurukshetra and Hisar Lok Sabha seats respectively in the state.

Chautala, 78, is a minister in the BJP-led Haryana government. He is former deputy prime minister Devi Lal's son and the brother of Indian National Lok Dal chief and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala.

Jindal, who represented Kurukshetra constituency in Lok Sabha between 2004-14 as a Congress MP, said he wants to contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda of 'Viksit Bharat'.

He joined the BJP at its Delhi office in the presence of its general secretary Vinod Tawde.

Jindal, who lost from Kurukshetra in 2014, said the country has progressed under Modi's leadership in the last 10 years and many historic steps such as the abrogation of Article 370 have been taken.

The dream of having a Ram temple in Ayodhya has also been realised, he told reporters.

Tawde said Jindal's presence in the party will help the government's agenda of boosting the country's economy and prosperity.

He noted that the Jindal Steel chairperson has a keen interest in sports and education as well.

"Like Naveen Jindal has joined (BJP) here (in Delhi), Ranjit Chautala ji, who is a minister in the Haryana government and an Independent MLA, has also joined the BJP. We welcome these two new members in the BJP fold," Tawde told reporters.

Ranjit Chautala, 78, joined the BJP in Sirsa in the presence of former MP Ashok Tanwar and other leaders at an event in Sirsa, party leaders said.

Tanwar, a former Haryana Congress president, had recently switched from the Aam Aadmi Party to the BJP and has been fielded from Sirsa.

In September 2023, Ranjit Chautala, while talking to PTI, said that he was not averse to contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and may take the step if the BJP offers him a ticket.

"Politics is the art of the possible," Ranjit Chautala had then said.

Chautala had said he was the first to offer unconditional support to the BJP after it fell short of a majority.

In 2019, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), founded by Dushyant Chautala and his father Ajay Chautala, and Independents extended support to the BJP after which it formed the government in Haryana. The alliance fell apart earlier this month.

Ajay Chautala is Om Prakash Chautala's son.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won all 10 seats in Haryana.

Last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with the then Chief Minister M L Khattar and other leaders had visited the Sirsa residence of Ranjit Singh Chautala.