Dumped by BJP, Udit Raj joins Congress

New Delhi:After he was denied a ticket for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), outgoing Delhi MP Udit Raj on Wednesday joined the Congress.

Udit Raj, a Lok Sabha member from North West Delhi, switched over to the Congress within a day after the BJP fielded singer Hans Raj Hans in the reserved seat.

"Congress President Rahul Gandhi welcomes Udit Raj into the Congress party," the Congress tweeted.

After joining the Congress, Udit Raj took to Twitter and said: "Today I joined the Congress. Thank you Congress President Rahul Gandhi."

Earlier in the day, in a series of tweets, he said: "It was nice to speak to senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra. He was saddened over denial of ticket to me."

Udit Raj said that if only he had been informed about the denial of ticket, then he would not have felt so bad.

"Why the party declared the name on the last day of the nomination?" he asked.