Since 2014, 11 Congress chief ministers have quit the party

While speculations are rife about former Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath joining BJP, the Congress in Madhya Pradesh is trying its best to ensure that other party members do not switch sides. However, there has been no official confirmation from Nath so far on whether or not he would join the BJP.

Notably, there are eleven former Congress chief ministers who have switched sides and joined other parties since BJP won general elections in 2014.

Here is the list of former chief ministers who quit Congress in the last ten years:

Ashok Chavan

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan is the most recent on the list to switch sides. He reportedly quit Congress to join the BJP after he was denied a nomination to the Rajya Sabha. Moreover, after joining the saffron party, he was nominated to the Upper House.

It came after former Congress Lok Sabha MP Milind Deora’s joining the Shiv Sena and former Maharashtra minister Baba Sidique’s joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

Kiran Kumar Reddy

Kiran Kumar Reddy is the former chief minister of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, who joined the BJP in 2023. He alleged that Congress made a “bad decision” by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh when he served as the chief minister.

Amarinder Singh

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh joined the BJP after he was asked to step down as chief minister following a power tussle in 2022. Moreover, he also merged his party, the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), with the BJP.

Digambar Kamat

Digambar Kamat is a former Goa chief minister who joined the BJP along with eight MLAs after quitting Congress in September 2022.

Ravi Naik

Ravi Naik is also a former Goa chief minister who joined the BJP after quitting Congress in 2021. It was after his sons joined the saffron party in 2020. This was the second time for Naik to join the BJP after he had served as a deputy chief minister in Manohar Parrikar-led cabinet.

Luizinho Faleiro

Another former Goa chief minister to quit Congress was Luizinho Faleiro. He quit the party to join the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in September 2021.

One more former Goa chief minister to quit Congress and join TMC was Churchill Alemao. He joined TMC in 2014.

Ajit Jogi

The late Ajit Jogi served as a Chhattisgarh chief minister. He quit Congress in 2018 to form his own party, the Janata Chattisgarh Congress (Jogi).

S. M. Krishna

Former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna quit Congress in January 2017 and joined the saffron party two months later.

Pema Khandu

Former Arunacha Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu quit Congress in September 2016 to join the ruling People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA). However, he and six other MLAs were suspended by the regional party, following which they joined the BJP.

Giridhar Gamang

Former Odisha chief minister Giridhar Gamang quit Congress in 2015 to join the BJP and later the Bharat Rashtra Samithi. However, he returned to Congress in January this year.

Vijay Bahuguna

Vijay Bahugna is the former chief minister of Uttarakhand. He joined the BJP in 2016 after Congress replaced him with Harish Rawat. Vijay, along with a few other MLAs, quit the party simultaneously.

Other notable chief ministers to quit Congress include former chief minister of Uttarakhand N. D. Tiwari, who joined the BJP in 2018, and Ghulam Nabi Azad, who quit Congress in 2022 to float with a party called the Democratic Azad Party (DAP). Azad is the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.