Ahead of the General Election 2024 in India, a lot of members from the Indian National Congress have joined the ruling party at the Centre - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prominent faces of Congress, including Gourav Vallabh, Naveen Jindal, Vijender Singh and some more parted ways with the Grand Old Party recently. These are apart from several hundred Congress workers having joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. 

The Congress party has been dealt a significant blow with the mass exodus. Amid the election fever, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government's ambitious slogan "Abki Baar 400 Par", these exits from Congress will in a way help the BJP break records in the poll. Let's take a look at some of the biggest Congress leaders who severed ties with the party and joined hands with the BJP.

Here are 5 Congress Leaders Who Joined Hands With BJP Ahead of LS Polls 2024:

1. Gourav Vallabh

In a major blow to the Congress, on April 4, 2024, Gourav Vallabh changed his political stripes to saffron. Vallabh, who resigned from the Congress citing the party's “lack of direction”, joined the BJP at its headquarters in the national capital. Vallabh had joined the Congress in 2017. 

In 2023, he lost the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly Election by 32,000 votes to BJP candidate Tarachand Jain. Vallabh had also contested from Jamshedpur East Constituency in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 but conceded defeat.

2. Vijender Singh

In another big blow, Olympics bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh quit the Congress to join the BJP on April 3. Vijender said that it was a “homecoming” for him and that it was “good to be back”. The pugilist had fought the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections unsuccessfully from the South Delhi constituency on a Congress ticket. 

It is speculated that his switch to the BJP is expected to help the party consolidate votes from the Jat community, which is especially important in Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. 

3. Naveen Jindal

In another jolt to the Congress days before the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, industrialist and former Congress leader Naveen Jindal quit the Congress and joined the BJP. After joining BJP, Jindal said that he wanted to contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda of 'Viksit Bharat'. The former Congress Member of Parliament lost the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections from Kurukshetra. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, he was not given a ticket by the Congress. 

However, as Jindal joined the BJP on March 24 this year, he will be fielded from the same seat in Haryana for the 2024 General Elections.

4. Preneet Kaur

The wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Preneet Kaur joined the saffron party ahead of the General Elections 2024. A MP from Patiala, Punjab, Preneet was suspended by the Congress in February 2023 for alleged anti-party activities and helping the BJP. In 2019, Preneet Kaur had won the Lok Sabha Elections from Patiala on a Congress ticket. 

In 2024, Preneet is expected to be BJP's candidate from Patiala. Upon joining BJP on March 14, she said was thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda and the entire party leadership for giving her the chance to serve the people of Punjab.

5. Ravneet Singh Bittu

Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu quit Congress and joined the BJP on March 26 2024. He is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Ravneet Bittu had won the Ludhiana seat for the second time consecutively. Furthermore, in March 2021, Bittu was briefly appointed the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha when the existing Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was busy in the 2021 West Bengal Election campaign. Bittu served as the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha until July 2021.

Ahead of the high-octane 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, India's Grand Old Party has suffered multiple setbacks after many Congress leaders joined the BJP.