Several members from opposition parties likely to join BJP by February 29

The BJP's two-day National Conclave ended on Sunday, with the official slogan 'Fir Ek Baar, Modi Sarkar' indicating a goal of 370 seats.

Several sitting MPs and MLAs from opposition parties, including the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), will be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) starting next week, a top BJP official said.

A News18 report quoted the official as saying that the mass joining will begin on February 20 and continue until the end of the month, on February 29.

This development follows widespread speculation over Congress leader Kamal Nath and his son Nakul joining the saffron brigade. On February 18, Nath’s comments to reporters stating “…if there is something like that, I will inform you all” fuelled the speculations further.

The report also quoted BJP sources as saying that a Congress stalwart who has previously served as a union minister during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule, might switch sides as well.

There has also been widespread speculation that BSP Lalganj MP Sangeeta Azad and Ambedkar Nagar MP Ritesh Pandey plan to join the BJP. Notably, Azad is from a family of BSP founders.

Ashok Chavan, the former Congress leader and Maharashtra chief minister, is the most recent addition to the BJP. The saffron party has nominated him for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections. In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18 after the transfer, he stated that the Maharashtra Congress lacked a strategy or preparedness for the elections.