Every time a former leader of ‘Team Rahul’ leaves the Congress, a picture of ‘Team Rahul’ appears on social media; Milind Deora is pictured with Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN Singh, Jitin Prasada, and Sachin Pilot; all the other leaders have left the party except for Sachin Pilot.
Let’s have a look at the electoral performances of ‘Team Rahul’ members who left the Congress.
Milind Deora
Hours after quitting the Congress, former Union Minister Milind Deora joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on January 14.
He had won Mumbai South, a high-profile seat, in 2009. Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant defeated Deora in 2014 and 2019 for the Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat by more than 126,000 votes.
RPN Singh
In January 2022, RPN Singh, a former Union minister, left the Congress party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was seen as a Congressman who belonged to ‘Team Rahul’.
RPN Singh, a member of the Sainthwar royal family of Kushinagar, was defeated in his first assembly election in 1993 when contested from Padrauna.
From Kushinagar, RPN Singh contested three times for the Lok Sabha, in 2009, 2014, and 2019. However, he was only able to win one Lok Sabha election in 2009, leading to Dr Manmohan Singh’s government appointing him as a minister of state. He was defeated in Kushinagar by BJP leader Rajesh Pandey, also known as Guddu, in 2014. But in 2019, he came in third from the same Lok Sabha seat.
Jitin Prasada
Former Union minister Jitin Prasada joined the BJP on June 9, 2021. Speaking to India Today, Jitin Prasada clarified that his switch to the BJP is not about power or post but ideals.
He was first elected to Lok Sabha in 2004 from the Dhaurahra seat and became Minister of State for Steel in April 2004. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 and became Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas in May 2009.
After 2009, Jitin Prasada lost two Lok Sabha elections, in 2014, 2019, and the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. In 2014, Prasada lost at Dhaurahra after failing to save his deposit. However, in 2019, Prasada was pushed to the third position and lost deposit.
In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Prasada was also pushed to third place and lost a deposit from the Tilhar constituency.
Jyotiraditya Scindia
Jyotiraditya Scindia, one of the key members of ‘Team Rahul,’ joined the BJP in March 2020. In June of that year, Scindia was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
In July 2021, he took the oath as Union Minister in the Narendra Modi government and currently serves as the Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Steel.
He was first elected to Lok Sabha (bye-election) in 2022 from the Guna Lok Sabha seat.
In the Dr Manmohan Singh government, he served as Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Union Minister of State (independent charge) of the Ministry of Power.