Former Congress MP Naveen Jindal, the youngest son of industrialist Om Prakash Jindal, announced his resignation from the party and joined the BJP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
He officially joined the BJP at the party headquarters in New Delhi, in the presence of its general secretary, Vinod Tawde. Tawde stated that Jindal’s affiliation with the BJP would advance the government’s agenda of enhancing the country’s economy and prosperity.
Naveen, who serves as the Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited and Chancellor of OP Jindal Global University, made his resignation announcement three days after assuming the role of president of the Indian Steel Association (ISA), the apex body for steel producers.
Naveen was unanimously elected as the president of the ISA by its apex committee, the governing body of the association. He succeeds Dilip Oommen, who serves as the CEO of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India.
Political Career and Background
Naveen jindal’s political journey began in 2004, marked by his involvement in student movements and subsequent leadership as the president of the student union at the University of Texas. After completing his post-graduation in the US, Naveen returned to India to assist his father, OP Jindal, in political matters, who was a renowned steel visionary and former Member of Parliament and Minister for Power in the Haryana government.
As a member of the Congress party, Naveen represented the Kurukshetra constituency in the Lok Sabha for two terms from 2004 to 2014. However, he lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Raj Kumar Saini in the 2014 general elections and was not fielded by the Congress in 2019.
He also holds national records in skeet shooting and is an accomplished Polo player. He was part of the Haryana shooting team that won the Gold medal at the 54th National shooting Championship competition (Big Bore) in the civilian category held at Gurgaon in May 2011.
Controversies
Naveen has also been involved in controversies, including allegations of involvement in the 2012 Colgate scam and undue preferences in mining allocations to his companies.
Additionally, the former Congress leader is accused in three cases related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks. One case involves irregularities in the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand, which is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Another case is a money laundering investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) concerning the allocation of the coal block. The third case being investigated by the CBI concerns alleged irregularities in the allocation of the Urtan North coal block in Madhya Pradesh.
Naveen’s move to the BJP follows a trend of high-profile Congress leaders defecting to the saffron party in recent weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. This includes former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, senior politician Suresh Pachouri, party national secretary Ajay Kapoor, and others like Milind Deora and Baba Siddique. Additionally, the INDIA bloc has lost several key members to the BJP.
(With inputs from agencies)
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