Hours after resigning from Congress, Kushboo Sundar joins BJP
Congress has lost one of its most fiery spokespersons as actor-turned-politician Kushboo Sundar joined the rival BJP on Monday. Capping month-long speculations, Sundar shot off a letter to party President Sonia Gandhi, saying that though she will always respect her, actions of a few people in the top brass drove her to take the decision. She arrived in Delhi last evening.
Sundar's stint with the Congress began in November 2014, months after the party faced a humiliating defeat in Lok Sabha elections, after governing India for two straight terms. An actor, who has worked in over 200 movies, predominantly in South India, Sundar became the national spokesperson of Congress, taking on BJP on all occasions she got. She was also associated with DMK.
After she quit DMK, over tensed ties with current Chief MK Stalin, Sundar stayed away from politics for four months. Later, when she joined Congress, she described the feeling as "homecoming." She also said Congress' secular nature was something she was proud of.
Cut to five years later, Sundar drifted apart from the same ideology she was once drawn to. In the letter, she told Sonia she wanted to work for Congress but was "suppressed" by few at the top, who were unaware of ground realities. "After a long thorough thought process over a period of time, have decided to end my association with the party," she added.
Sundar also said she didn't come to Congress looking for benefits. "I came into the fold of INC at the time when it was the lowest, being defeated in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. I did not come into the party for monetary gains, name or fame, (sic)" her letter read. She thanked Sonia and Rahul for giving the opportunity to work with Congress.
Khushboo Sundar resigns from Congress; says in letter to Congress President, "few elements seated at higher level within the party, people who've no connectivity with ground reality or public recognition are dictating terms". https://t.co/4cm6ZPmzyT pic.twitter.com/HzWX1d5RU8
— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2020
Reports suggested that Sundar's resignation was in making since last year when she was denied a Lok Sabha ticket from Tamil Nadu. Sundar wasn't sent to Rajya Sabha, either. Notably, the Southern state managed to stall Prime Minister Narendra Modi's juggernaut with the DMK-Congress alliance exceeding expectations. Her tweets, one in which she welcomed the New Education Policy, hinted she might ditch Congress soon.
On Saturday, she posted a cryptic tweet about people seeing a "change in her." "Well as you age, you evolve n grow, learn n unlearn, perceptions change, likes n dislikes too, thoughts n ideas take a new shape, dreams are new, you understand the difference between like n love, between right n wrong, (sic)" she tweeted.
Sundar was welcomed in the saffron party by Sambit Patra and CT Ravi. Visibly forgetting the countless attacks she launched on the BJP regime, a smiling Sundar said, "Need someone like Mr. Modi to lead our country."
Sundar has joined the BJP when the party is looking to make inroads in Tamil Nadu, where elections will be held in 2021. At the peak of her career, Sundar's fans built a temple for her, which explains the fandom she enjoys. Evidently, the race to Tamil Nadu secretariat will be intense as superstar Rajinikanth is also expected to jump in.
