LUCKNOW: Savita Pandey, the Congress candidate from the Tarabganj constituency in Gonda district in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls, joined the ruling BJP on Sunday.
In a statement, the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP said Pandey, along with her supporters, joined the party at its state headquarters here.
Pandey took the membership of the saffron party in the presence of former Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpai.
She said she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after being influenced by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
"In the last five years, every woman in the state has got a feeling that they are safe only under the BJP government," Pandey said.
Leaders from the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and other Congress office-bearers also joined the saffron party.
Polling is scheduled to be held in Gonda in the fifth phase of the election on February 27.