Ramesh Tomar joined the BJP this morning.
In a rude shock for the Congress, Ramesh Tomar, picked by the party as its candidate from Gautam Buddh Nagar, better known as Noida, has joined the BJP this morning. The switch comes just a week before voting is held in the constituency located in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr Tomar posed this morning for photographs with BJP President
Rajnath Singh and said he looks forward to
Narendra Modi being elected as prime minister.
"I am an old member of the BJP...I have realized that the nation needs Modi ji now...So I decided to rejoin my party," the 64-year-old said.
This is Part Deux for Mr Tomar's allegiance with the BJP. He had quit the party in 2009 when his then constituency of Ghaziabad was assigned to Rajnath Singh. Mr Tomar had represented Ghaziabad till 2004, when he lost to a Congressman.
Noida is a Delhi suburb and an important industrial township in the National Capital Region or NCR. The Gautam Buddh Nagar seat was won by Mayawati's BSP but he has now switched to the Samajwadi Party.
(Elections 2014: Poll Schedule)
The BJP's candidate is Mahesh Sharma, who currently represents Gautam Buddh Nagar in the Uttar Pradesh state legislature.
Sources say if he wins the national election, Mr Tomar reportedly is likely to replace him in the state assembly. That's a more appealing prospect than running for parliament from Noida as a Congress candidate, because the party is expected to perform abysmally in the election, according to opinion polls.