BJP MP Jayant Sinha's Son Aashir Sinha Joins Congress (Photo on X Jayant Sinha (Modi Ka Parivar) @jayantsinha)

BJP MP Jayant Sinha”s son Aashir Sinha joined the Congress party on Monday. The former Union minister”s son is also the grandson of veteran leader and former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha. The Congress party”s Jharkhand unit informed the news on Tuesday.

Aashir Sinha reportedly decided to leave the BJP after his father Jayant Sinha was denied a ticket to contest in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections from his sitting Hazaribagh constituency. The decision of Aashir Sinha could potentially be a blow to the saffron party amid the election”s zeal. The Hazaribagh constituency will exercise their franchises in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20.  

Jayanth Sinha has been representing the Hazaribagh seat since 2014. He won the seat with more than 1.5 lakh majority in 2014 and retained it, increasing his majority to more than four lakh votes in the 2019 general elections. Before 2014, Aashir Sinha”s grandfather Yashwant Sinha was the MP from the constituency. However, denying the sitting MP the ticket, the BJP nominated Hazaribagh MLA Manish Jaiswal. Earlier, there were reports that Jayanth Sinha opted out of the Lok Sabha polls.

Notably, Congress has fielded the BJP turncoat Jai Prakash Bhai Patel to dismantle the BJP”s decade-long clutch in the constituency by wrestling it back. 

According to Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha, As part of Jharkhand Congress, Aashir Sinha will be given some role in the party and it has not decided the role yet. A Congress source noted that it was the first time since 1998 that no member of Yashwant Sinha’s family is contesting the elections from Hazaribagh. The joining of one of Yashwant Sinha”s family members would pull the traditional vote banks, the source added.

Reacting to Aashir Sinha”s decision to leave the party and join the Congress, BJP spokesperson Vinay Kumar said that there is “no problem for us whoever joins Congress from Hazaribagh. We will win the seat.”