Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's grandson Vibhakar Shastri on Wednesday joined the BJP and announced leaving the Congress.

Vibhakar Shastri joined the BJP in Lucknow in the presence of party state president Bhupinder Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.

In a post on X, Shastri said, "Hon'ble Congress President Shri Kharge ji! Respected Sir, I hereby tender my resignation from the primary membership of Indian National Congress, Regards, Vibhakar Shastri." Vibhakar Shastri, who is the grandson of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and son of Hari Krishna Shastri, has unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha polls in the past from Fatehpur Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress has witnessed a series of exits in the last few years with the likes of Ashok Chavan, Milind Deora, Baba Siddiqui, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasad, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Sushmita Dev, R P N Singh and Jaiveer Shergill among others joining other parties.

Pathak told PTI that Vibhakar Shastri joining the BJP is a welcome message for the social workers.

He said as Vibhakar Shastri hails from the former prime minister's family, it is natural that the party would benefit from the development.

Siddharth Nath Singh, another brother of Shastri, welcomed the decision. Singh is presently a BJP MLA from Allahabad West seat.

Vibhakar Shastri said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Sabka saath sabka vikas' slogan, the guiding spirit of the BJP governments at the Centre and in the states, is attracting everybody.

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