Sonia Gandhi aide Tom Vadakkan joins BJP in massive setback for Congress before polls

Congress leader Tom Vadakkan on Thursday joined Bharatiya Janata Party in presence of Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Tom Vadakkan is considered to be a close aide of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Vadakkan said that the Congress questioned the integrity of the armed forces which hurt him deeply.

"I am deeply hurt and that is why I am here," Tom Vadakkan said, while adding Congress's reaction to Pulwama attack was precisely the reason why he left the party.

"The attack by Pakistan on our land and the reaction from my party was sad indeed," Vadakkan said.

"This is against the national interest and I have left the party on a sad note," Vadakkan said.

"If a political party takes such a position that is against the country then I'm left with no option but to leave the party," Vadakkan said, adding that he left the Congress party with a heavy heart.

In an apparent attack on party chief Rahul Gandhi's leadership of the Congress, Vadakkan said he gave the party two decades of his life but it has now resorted to a practise of "use and throw".

Dynastic politics has reached its zenith in the Congress, he said, adding that he believed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development narrative.

The BJP may field Vadakkan in the Lok Sabha elections from a seat in Kerala.