Rajasthan leader joins BJP in Raje's presence

Abhinesh Maharshi, a Rajasthan leader who has been in the Congress and the BSP, joined the BJP on Monday in the presence of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Union minister Prakash Javadekar.

Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Maharshi enjoys some influence in the Churu region and his joining the party will help it in the assembly polls.

"He has done a lot of hard work in his region and I am confident he will be a good addition to the party," Rajasthan Chief Minister Raje told reporters.

Maharshi, who had fought the 2014 Lok Sabha election on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket from Churu and came second, put his faith in the BJP's leadership, saying it has the "vision" to take the state and the country forward.

Javadekar said he was earlier in the Congress but good people feel "suffocated" in the party.

The Union minister, who is the BJP's in-charge for the Rajasthan polls, said the party's second list for the assembly elections, due on December 7, will be out soon.

The BJP had Sunday released its first list of 131 candidates for the election to 200-member assembly.