S Vijayadharani, a Congress MLA from Tamil Nadu for three consecutive terms, joined the BJP on Saturday, asserting that the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very important for the country.

The development is a shot in the arm for the BJP in the southern state where it has struggled to gain ground.

Vijayadharani is the MLA from Vilavancode, which is part of the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat, a constituency the BJP has won in the past.

She posted on X her letter of resignation from the Congress before joining the BJP.

She joined the party in the national capital in the presence of Union Minister L Murugan and the party's national secretary Arvind Menon, who is the poll in-charge for Tamil Nadu.

Vijayadharani lauded the central government for its various good schemes and lamented that some of those are not being implemented in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK-Congress alliance is in power.

A lot of great things are happening to the country, she said, praising the BJP's focus on women.

Murugan said people from different sections of society are coming forward to join the BJP to strengthen Modi's hand.

The BJP was unable to win any of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu in the 2019 general elections.

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