Cong leader and ex-Union minister Suresh Pachouri, ex-MP Rajukhedi to join BJP ahead of LS polls

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Suresh Pachouri and ex-MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday morning, party sources said.

Pachouri, who was close to the Gandhi family, was Union minister of state for defence (defence production and supplies), and also served as a four-time Rajya Sabha member of the grand old party.

Rajukhedi, a prominent tribal leader, was elected as an MP from Dhar (Scheduled Tribes) seat on the Congress ticket for three terms.

In 1990, he was elected as a BJP MLA, but later joined the Congress, the sources said.