Former Cong MP Tejaswini joins BJP

Former Congress MP Tejaswini Ramesh, who shot into fame after defeating former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, today joined the BJP, saying it can provide a stable government under the able leadership of Narendra Modi.

Ramesh was welcomed into the party by state unit President Prahlad Joshi. "BJP has declared an able leader (Modi) as Prime Ministerial candidate. The country needs an able and decisive leadership and Modi fits the bill," she told reporters here.

She said Congress-led UPA had squandered the opportunity provided by the people in the last 10 years and there was a huge difference between what it professed and practised. "I don't want to waste any more time (in Congress)."

To a query, she said she had not sought a ticket from Congress to contest the Lok Sabha polls, nor has she made any such request to BJP for joining it.

Ramesh, a former Kannada TV anchor, had emerged as a "giant killer" when she humbled Gowda by over 1.22 lakh votes in Kanakapura Lok Sabha (now Bangalore Rural) constituency.