Former Congress Rajya Sabha chief whip Bhubaneshwar Kalita joins BJP

As the Congress gears up to chose its next national president, its former chief whip in Rajya Sabha Bhubaneshwar Kalita joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday. Kalita had resigned from the Rajya Sabha earlier this week opposing the Grand Old Party’s stand on Jammu and Kashmir.

Kalita, whose term in Rajya Sabha was till April 9, 2020, is the second Congress Rajya Sabha member after Sanjay Sinh, a member of the erstwhile Amethi royal family, who has joined the BJP. Kalita joined the party at its headquarters here in presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal and other senior leaders.

Welcoming Kalita into the saffron party, the BJP in a series of tweets said that his contributions in the political and social world are immense and to leave Congress for principles and join the BJP is praiseworthy.