Suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad joins Congress

Darbhanga MP Kirti Azad, who was suspended by the ruling BJP for anti-party activities, joined the Congress on Monday.

Azad, a former India cricketer, and a member of the 1983 World Cup winning team met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the morning and was inducted into the party.

"Today in front of Rahul Gandhi I joined the Congress, I felicitated him in traditional Mithila style," Azad tweeted, along with photographs of him with the Congress president.

आज सुबह कांग्रेस के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्री @RahulGandhi जी ने मुझे कांग्रेस की सदस्यता ग्रहण कराई मैंने मिथिला की परंपरा में उनको मखाना की माला, पाग, चादर से सम्मानित किया।
Today in front of Shri Rahul Gandhi I joined the Congress I felicitated him in traditional Mithila style pic.twitter.com/B9DQwCM207

— Kirti Azad (@KirtiAzadMP) February 18, 2019

Azad was to officially join the opposition party on Friday, but the programme was cancelled in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack.

He was suspended by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2015 after he levelled allegations against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

Azad is currently serving his third term in the Lok Sabha, representing the Darbhanga constituency in Bihar.

He is the son of late Bhagwat Jha Azad, a veteran Congress leader who also served as the chief minister of Bihar for a brief period.