Amarinder Singh is not the 'FIRST BOY', check never-ending list of former Chief Ministers who joined BJP

A descendant of the Patiala royal family, Amarinder Singh, on Monday joined the list of former chief ministers, including Digambar Kamat and SM Krishna, who have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the years. Amarinder Singh joined the saffron party at the party headquarters in Delhi in the presence of other BJP leaders, including Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju, and also merged his newly formed Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with the BJP.  

Amarinder Singh, popularly known as Captain, was the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007 and from March 2017 to September 2021. He was later removed from the post of Chief Minister. After that, he left the Congress and later formed PLC. In the last assembly elections, the PLC contested the assembly elections in alliance with the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (United) led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. However, none of his candidates could win and Amarinder Singh himself was also defeated in his stronghold Patiala city. 

Former CMs Joined BJP

The name of SM Krishna is prominent among the former Chief Ministers who joined the BJP before Amarinder Singh. One of the prominent leaders of the Congress, Krishna was the Chief Minister of Karnataka from October 1999 to May 2004. He has also held the post of Foreign Minister and Governor. He joined the BJP in March 2017. Apart from these, Digambar Kamat was the Chief Minister of Goa from 2007 to 2012. Senior Congress leader Kamat recently joined the BJP. 

Big Names Joined BJP

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane also left Shiv Sena and joined the BJP. Rane, who had a special influence in Konkan politics, had joined the BJP before the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections. He was the 13th Chief Minister of Maharashtra and his tenure lasted from 1 February 1999 to 17 October 1999. He succeeded Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi as the Chief Minister. The sixth Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Vijay Bahuguna, also joined the BJP after leaving the post. He was the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from March 2012 to January 2014. 

Another chief minister to join the BJP is N Kiran Reddy. He was the 16th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He was the Chief Minister of the state from November 2010 to March 2014. He was the last Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh before the formation of Telangana. He later joined the BJP. Veteran Congress leader Narayan Dutt Tiwari was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh thrice and Uttarakhand once. He had joined the BJP before the 2017 Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand assembly elections. 

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu also left the Congress and joined the BJP. In September 2016, he joined the People's Party of Arunachal along with 43 Congress MLAs. This party was an ally of the BJP. Later he became the Chief Minister of the state. N Biren Singh had quit the Congress in October 2016 and rebelled against the then Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi Singh. After that, he joined the BJP. In the year 2017, he became the Chief Minister of Manipur. Apart from these leaders, Babulal Marandi is such a leader who merged his party Jharkhand Vikas Morcha with the BJP in 2020. He was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand. At that time, he was in the BJP, but due to differences, he left BJP and formed his own party. 

Leaders Took Membership of BJP

Apart from former Chief Ministers, many senior leaders of Congress and other parties have also embraced the BJP's politics in recent years. These include former Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN Singh and Jitin Prasada. Scindia is still a minister in the central government. Former Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sarma had also left the country's oldest party and joined the BJP. He was a minister in the Government of Assam. Sarma is the Chief Minister of Assam today. In the last few years, Suvendu Adhikari (Trinamool Congress), Kuldeep Bishnoi, Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Khushboo Sundar, Satpal Maharaj, Rita Bahuguna Joshi (all Congress) and Gaurav Bhatia (Samajwadi Party) have joined the BJP.