Neeraj Shekhar, Son of Former PM Chandra Shekhar, Joins BJP, Meets Working President JP Nadda

In the latest case of a high-profile deflection, son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, Neeraj Shekhar, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday. Neeraj Shekhar had quit the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday and also resigned from the Rajya Sabha.

Neeraj joined the BJP in the presence of BJP’s general secretaries Bhupendra Yadav and Anil Jain.

News Agency ANI Tweeted Image of Neeraj Shekhar Welcomed Into BJP

Neeraj had contested Lok Sabha polls from his father’s pocket borough and hometown of Ballia, He had won twice in 2007 and 2009 elections. However, he lost the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The SP then nominated and sent him to Rajya Sabha. However, he was not fielded in the recent Lok Sabha polls by the Samajwadi Party, which is believed to be the reason behind him quitting the party and joining the BJP.

BJP sources said the party is likely nominate him as its candidate for Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. Neeraj also met BJP’s working president JP Nadda after joining the party.

See the Pictures in the Tweet Below

SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar were regarded close friends despite not being from the same party. Mulayam Singh Yadav never fielded a candidate from Ballia, the seat represented by Chandra Shekhar. And after the latter’s death in 2007, Yadav fielded Neeraj Shekhar from the seat on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2019 06:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).