<p>Anil Antony, son of former defence minister and Congress leader AK Antony, joined the BJP on Thursday in the presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal.</p>.<p>Anil resigned from the Congress in January after he sent out a tweet criticising the BBC for its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Anil had said that “despite his large differences with the BJP”, he believed that the documentary could undermine India’s sovereignty. His tweet had created controversy and the 37-year-old had to face angry tweets and posts from scores of Congress workers. </p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/karnataka/bjp-using-ed-it-to-pressurise-film-persons-to-join-the-party-surjewala-1207064.html"><strong>Also read | BJP using ED, I-T raids to pressurise film persons to join the party: Surjewala</strong></a></p>.<p>On Thursday, he was welcomed into the BJP by senior party leaders, including media chief Anil Baluni, Union minister V Muraleedharan, Kerala BJP president K Surendran and general secretary Tarun Chugh, besides Goyal.</p>.<p>Goyal welcomed Antony by calling him a “multi-faceted personality” with impressive credentials. “His views are similar to those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on sustainable development. We are confident that he will continue to play a very active role and help the BJP’s footprint in southern India grow,” Goyal said.</p>.<p>Anil, on the other hand, said that he walked away from Congress because he wanted to work for a party and not for one family. “Prime Minister Modi has a very clear vision of putting India in a leading place in a multi-polar world,” Anil told reporters.</p>.<p>In addition to leaving A K Antony, considered a close aide of Sonia Gandhi, red-faced, the move is also going to help the BJP in wooing the Christian vote bank. For the BJP, the young politician can come in handy while convincing a chunk of young voters ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.</p>
<p>Anil Antony, son of former defence minister and Congress leader AK Antony, joined the BJP on Thursday in the presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal.</p>.<p>Anil resigned from the Congress in January after he sent out a tweet criticising the BBC for its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Anil had said that “despite his large differences with the BJP”, he believed that the documentary could undermine India’s sovereignty. His tweet had created controversy and the 37-year-old had to face angry tweets and posts from scores of Congress workers. </p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/election/karnataka/bjp-using-ed-it-to-pressurise-film-persons-to-join-the-party-surjewala-1207064.html"><strong>Also read | BJP using ED, I-T raids to pressurise film persons to join the party: Surjewala</strong></a></p>.<p>On Thursday, he was welcomed into the BJP by senior party leaders, including media chief Anil Baluni, Union minister V Muraleedharan, Kerala BJP president K Surendran and general secretary Tarun Chugh, besides Goyal.</p>.<p>Goyal welcomed Antony by calling him a “multi-faceted personality” with impressive credentials. “His views are similar to those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on sustainable development. We are confident that he will continue to play a very active role and help the BJP’s footprint in southern India grow,” Goyal said.</p>.<p>Anil, on the other hand, said that he walked away from Congress because he wanted to work for a party and not for one family. “Prime Minister Modi has a very clear vision of putting India in a leading place in a multi-polar world,” Anil told reporters.</p>.<p>In addition to leaving A K Antony, considered a close aide of Sonia Gandhi, red-faced, the move is also going to help the BJP in wooing the Christian vote bank. For the BJP, the young politician can come in handy while convincing a chunk of young voters ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.</p>