Amarinder Singh, Digamber Kamat, Narayan Rane: A look at former CMs who have joined BJP recently

New Delhi: Amarinder Singh on Monday (September 19, 2022) joined the long list of former chief ministers of other parties who have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last few years like Digamber Kamat and SM Krishna. Singh joined BJP in the presence of Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju. He had earlier in the day met BJP national president JP Nadda. 

Singh was the chief minister of Punjab twice from 2002 to 2007 and then again from March 2017 to September 2021 before he was ousted unceremoniously by Congress. He later quit the Congress and formed his own Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), which he merged with the BJP on Monday. His party, however, had failed to make a mark in the last assembly election in Punjab and could not win a single seat.

Former Karnataka CM SM Krishna left Congress and joined BJP

Another chief minister to have joined the BJP is SM Krishna, who was the chief minister of Karnataka from October 1999 to May 2004 when he was in the Congress party. Krishna, also a former Governor and External Affairs Minister, joined the BJP in March 2017.

Ex-Goa CM Digambar Kamat also left Congress and joined BJP

Digambar Kamat, who was the Congress chief minister in Goa from 2007 to 2012, joined the saffron party recently.

Narayan Rane, former Maharashtra CM, quit Shiv Sena to join BJP

Former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane quit the Shiv Sena to join the BJP. Rane, the strongman in Konkan politics, joined the BJP ahead of the 2019 state polls. He was the 13th chief minister of Maharashtra from February 1, 1999, to October 17, 1999, after Manohar Joshi quit the post.

Ex-Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahuguna also quit Congress to join BJP

Vijay Bahuguna, who served as the 6th chief minister of Uttarakhand, from March 2012 to January 2014, also quit the Congress to join the BJP after he resigned following the 'mishandling' of the 2013 Uttarakhand floods.

Former Andhra Pradesh CM N Kiran Reddy quit Congress and joined BJP

N Kiran Reddy was a Congress leader who served as the 16th chief minister of Andhra Pradesh between November 2010 and March 2014. He was the last chief minister of the united Andhra Pradesh before the formation of the Telangana state in June 2014. He later joined the BJP.

Ex-Uttarakhand CM ND Tiwari left Congress and joined BJP

Narayan Dutt Tiwari, an old-time Congress leader, was a three-time chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1976 to 1977, 1984 to 1985, and from 1988 to 1989, and later chief minister of Uttarakhand from 2002 to 2007. He quit the Congress towards the end and joined the BJP ahead of the 2017 assembly elections in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu quit Congress and joined BJP

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu had also quit the Congress and joined the BJP. In September 2016, along with 43 Congress MLAs, he defected to the People's Party of Arunachal, an ally of the BJP, and became the chief minister of the state.

Manipur CM N Biren Singh quit Congress and joined BJP

N Biren Singh quit the Congress in October 2016 and joined the BJP after revolting against then Congress chief minister O Ibobi Singh. In 2017, he became the chief minister of Manipur, the BJP's first chief minister in the state.

Jharkhand's first CM Babulal Marandi merged his party with BJP

Babulal Marandi was another former chief minister who merged his Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) with the BJP in February 2020. He is the first chief minister of Jharkhand (from November 2000 to March 2003 when he was in the BJP). He later quit the saffron party in September 2006 and formed his own outfit.

Besides the former chief ministers, several other top leaders of Congress and other parties have joined the BJP in the last few years. These include former Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN Singh, and Jitin Prasada. 

Former Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, a minister in the Congress government in Assam, had also joined the BJP after quitting the Congress.

Besides them, leaders like Suvendu Adhikari from Mamata Banerjee's TMC, Congress' Kuldeep Bishnoi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Khushboo Sunder, Satpal Maharaj, Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Jagdambika Pal, and Gaurav Bhatia (from the SP) have also joined the saffron camp.