BJP Dalit MP Ashok Dohare joins Congress, gets ticket from Etawah

Ashok Dohare, the sitting BJP member of Parliament from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, joined the Congress in New Delhi on Friday, and within hours the party announced that he would be its candidate from the same constituency.

Why he left

Dohare was reportedly unhappy after the BJP refused him a ticket this time. The party instead chose Ram Shankar Katheria for Etawah, shifting him from Agra.

He became the second Dalit MP of the BJP to move to the Congress, following Savitri Bai Phule.

A string of defections

Dohare is described as the third Dalit MP of the BJP, and the fourth of its lawmakers overall, to change parties in recent weeks. Before him, Anshul Verma, the Dalit MP from Hardoi, and Shyama Charan Gupta, the MP from Allahabad, crossed over to the Samajwadi Party.

The SP has already named Gupta as its candidate from Banda. There was also speculation that Verma could be given an SP ticket.

The departures came as parties in Uttar Pradesh were finalising their candidate lists for the Lok Sabha election, with sitting MPs who were left out looking for new platforms.

What happened next

The 2019 Lok Sabha election was held from 11 April to 19 May, and votes were counted on 23 May 2019. The BJP won 303 of the 543 seats and the Congress 52, and Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Lok Sabha members

Originally published on 29 March 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us