Rita Bahuguna Joshi joins BJP, slams Rahul and 'PK'
BJP gets a Brahmin leader in its ranks for UP assembly polls
 "Rita Bahuguna Joshi joins BJP, slams Rahul and 'PK'")
Joshi was the chief of the Congress state unit of Uttar Pradesh during the 2012 Assembly polls. It is likely that she might get an equally important role in BJP for the coming UP Assembly polls.
With Kalraj Mishra moving to the centre as a minister, BJP in UP does not have any Brahmin leaders of note in its ranks in UP. The Brahmins are an electorally significant community and comprise over 10 per cent of the electorate. The Congress has fielded former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, also a Brahmin, as its chief ministerial candidate in UP in an attempt to wean away some of the Brahmin support base of BJP.
Joshi joining the BJP could arrest any dent in the party’s upper caste support base. Apart from her Brahmin caste roots, Joshi also has pedigree.
She is the daughter of Congress stalwart of yesteryears and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna. Earlier this year, Joshi's brother Vijay Bahuguna had walked out of the Congress with nine rebel legislators that led to the President's Rule being imposed in Uttarakhand. Vijay Bahuguna later joined the BJP.
However, what Joshi had to say about Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today at the time of joining the BJP upset the Congress no end. She said Rahul Gandhi's statements after the 'surgical strike' by the Indian Army on the Line of Control. Joshi said Rahul Gandhi's comment 'khoon ki dalali' was unfortunate as it strengthened Pakistan's voice.
Joshi said the Congress challenge is weak in UP and that the party hasn't unleashed the kind of street politics that it should have after the loss of 2014. She said most of the Congress leaders are upset with Rahul Gandhi's leadership. The situation, Joshi said, is such that the Congress party has been "sublet" to election strategist Prashant Kishor, who even tells senior leaders when to stand and when to sit.
Joshi said she had discussions with Shah and felt satisfied that he didn't have any "myopic agenda" but believed in and pursuing a development agenda. Joshi, who used to teach history at the Allahabad University, started her political career with the Samajwadi Party in the mid-1990s, becoming the mayor of Allahabad. She later joined the Congress and was also the chief of its women's wing.
Joshi was elected on a Congress ticket from Lucknow (Cantonment) seat in 2012 assembly polls. In the forthcoming elections, Joshi is slated to face a difficult rival in Samajwadi Party's Aparna Yadav, the younger daughter-in-law of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.