In a sudden political twist, Indian National Congress spokesperson Kushboo will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at an event in New Delhi on Monday. The political development has come as a surprise to many, considering that she has been vocal against the ruling party's policy decisions and had even said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no appeal in Tamil Nadu. However, this is not completely unexpected as Kushboo has been unhappy in the Congress ever since she was not given a ticket to contest in the Lok Sabha election.
Sources say that the BJP has promised her a ticket in the Assemby elections next year. Some sources say that it could be a Rajya Sabha seat or chairmanship in one of the government boards.
Kushboo, who was once a top actor in Tamil Nadu and has shared screen with every superstar, has a tremendous following in the state. She entered politics by joining the DMK in May 2010. Four years later, she left the DMK in July 2014. After a few months, in November 2014, Kushboo joined the Congress party.
On Sunday night, Kushboo was seen leaving from the Chennai airport to the capital. When reporters asked if she was joining the BJP, the usually loquacious leader chose to not comment on the matter. She maintained that she had nothing to say. Speculation over Kushboo joining the BJP began in July but she has consistently denied such a possibility. Her tweets supporting the National Education policy rolled out by the BJP had raised doubts about whether she was thawing her stand towards the BJP. She had claimed that her stand on the matter differs from the Congress and that she would rather speak facts than be a puppet.
Even as recently as last week, she continued to reject speculation about her joining the BJP. This despite the Tamil Nadu BJP hinting at the possibility.
When speaking to reporters in New Delhi on October 6, she had said, “If he (TN BJP chief Murugan) informs you that I’ll join BJP what can I do for that? There were rumours about this and Murugan might have thought that it would be good if I join the party. So it feels good that they think Khusbhu’s presence in BJP will be good but I am happy in Congress.”
In the past, Kusbhoo has been at the receiving end of trolling from BJP supporters who used her religious identity to attack her political views. Trolls have often used her Muslim name 'Nakhat Khan' as an insult.