Jitin Prasada has had a troubled stay in the Congress in the last few years. He was restive and felt sidelined. It came as no surprise to the party when the Uttar Pradesh leader recently crossed over to the BJP. Though the BJP played it up, the party does not consider him a political heavyweight like Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Prasada, 47, was one of the youngest ministers in the first Manmohan Singh government. But Congress leaders say his prominence was on account of his proximity to Rahul Gandhi and, in some measure, the political legacy of his father Jitendra Prasada.
“He could not win the Lok Sabha election in 2019. Prior to that, he lost the assembly election in 2017. If such people leave the party, it is not going to make any difference,” said UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu.
Prasada is learnt to have felt sidelined in party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s scheme of things in UP. He had almost switched over to the BJP ahead of the 2019 elections, but Rahul persuaded him to stay. He was among the G-23 signatories of the rebellious letter sent to party chief Sonia Gandhi in August 2020. And his appointment as West Bengal in-charge was seen as a way of plucking him out of Priyanka’s way.
The BJP is looking to make some gains from this development. It is hoped that a prominent face from a rival party crossing at a time when the state government is criticised for its handling of the pandemic would shift the narrative. Also, the BJP sees Prasada as a saleable face from the Brahmin community as the Yogi Adityanath regime struggles to get rid of its anti-Brahmin and pro-Thakur image.
Most important, the BJP hopes it would further damage the stock of the Gandhis as yet another leader close to Rahul leaves the party. For the Congress, while it has described Prasada’s exit as a non-event, questions abound on why leaders like Prasada were promoted despite their ineffectiveness and suspect loyalty.