New Delhi: The Congress has lost another scion of a former chief minister to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of slain Punjab chief minister (CM) Beant Singh, switched parties Tuesday.

Bittu joins a list of at least 12 other scions of former Congress CMs to switch to the BJP since Narendra Modi became prime minister. The list includes Padmaja Venugopal, Ashok Chavan and Om Prakash Pahadia, among other leaders.

“I can say, with confidence, that PM Modi and the Union home minister share a lot of love for Punjab, and they wish to do a lot for the state… Why should Punjab be left behind?” Bittu said about deciding to switch parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The latest Congress dynast to quit the party, Bittu follows in the footsteps of the so-called young guns Milind Deora, R.P.N. Singh, Sushmita Dev, Jitin Prasada, and Jyotiraditya Scindia, who were once considered close to Rahul Gandhi. While these Congress dynasts have cited reasons ranging from the party’s “disconnect” from the people and “bankruptcy” to their pursuit of “development”, former Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha came up with three other factors that could have led to their switch.

"One, they are part of a dynasty, thus had easy access to the top leadership. If that access got dented, for whatever reason, they felt that they were ignored or sidelined," said Jha, who was suspended from the party in 2020 after calling for a “reawakened and revitalised Congress”.

Second, Jha said, leaders who have responsibility or influence from a young age are not used to staying without it for too long. “If they see they are becoming politically irrelevant, they begin to get worried," he said.

The third factor, according to him, is that “coming from a political family also carries a certain baggage of living up to certain social expectations or peer pressure”.

Rahul Verma, a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, said electoral prospects are usually behind such decisions. "…they don’t see a political future in the party that they are in. They are moving towards a party they think has a better electoral prospect,” said Verma.

But, Jha said, the trend would reverse in favour of the Congress if it returned to power. "If tomorrow, the Congress returns to power, most of them would be more than happy to return,” he said.

Verma agreed, saying, "If you think about the 1960s or 1970s, a lot of politicians would join the Congress party. Sometimes, the Congress used to poach (leaders from other parties). At the moment, the BJP is in a similar position.”

"Any party that happens to be stronger will attract politicians of all hues and colours because it can offer them better electoral prospects. In the end, politicians are in the business of politics. They want to brighten their career prospects," he added.

ThePrint looks at 12 cases like Bittu’s – scions of former Congress CMs switching to the BJP over the past 10 years.