"Was upset," says ex-Congress Minister Padmakar Valvi after joining BJP

Valvi was a popular face of the Congress Party in Nandurbar, a tribal-dominated district. Valvi has been a three-time MLA from Nandurbar.

Hailing the Modi-led BJP government, Padmakar Valvi, a three-time MLA from Nandurbar in Maharashtra, who joined the BJP on Wednesday, said that he was "upset" with the Congress party for one year. Justifying his decision to join the BJP, he told ANI, "...The pace of work by the BJP and the planning made by the party from the state to the Centre (its benefits) reach to people. Its effect can be seen...We, the true workers of Congress, were upset for years. I was upset for a year. I was hoping to receive an opportunity to campaign for the party in the Lok Sabha election...People are indeed upset in Congress."

"There is no coordination in the management of the Congress organisation...I will carry out whatever role is assigned to me by the party (BJP)...," he said. "We have been influenced by the work of the (Modi) government," he added.

BJP leader Ashok Chavan said, "The people who are in Congress can't see their future. Many people are ready to join the BJP. As elections near, many more people will join BJP..." On the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, he said, "It is natural that governments in Kerala and Karnataka will create hurdles..."

Valvi's shift to the BJP comes at a time when Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra reached Maharashtra's Nandurbar on Tuesday. He was a popular face of the Congress Party in Nandurbar, a tribal-dominated district. Valvi was a strong Congress leader from North Maharashtra and was a minister in the previous Congress-NCP government.

Vavi has joined the list of leaders who severed their ties with the Congress in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', after the party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', aims to cover 6,700 km through 15 states, with Lok Sabha polls around the corner.

The Lok Sabha polls are likely to be held in April-May this year. (ANI)

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