Lok Sabha Elections 2024: India's richest woman Savitri Jindal joins BJP after quitting Congress

India's richest woman Savitri Jindal quit the Congress party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (Mar 28) ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

Aishwarya Nair

First Published Mar 28, 2024, 4:56 PM IST | Last Updated Mar 28, 2024, 5:04 PM IST

India's richest woman and former Haryana minister, Savitri Jindal, has switched her political allegiance by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The 84-year-old made this move shortly after her son, industrialist Naveen Jindal, left the Congress party to join the BJP. Savitri Jindal officially joined the ruling BJP at an event held in Hisar, Haryana, where Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar welcomed her.

In a social media post announcing her departure from the Congress party, Savitri Jindal stated that the residents of Hisar are like family to her. She mentioned resigning from the party "on advice" from her family.

"I represented the people of Hisar for 10 years as an MLA and have served Haryana state selflessly as a minister. The people of Hisar are my family and on the advice of my family, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress today".

Savitri was a minister in the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government. In the 2014 elections, Savitri Jindal was defeated by BJP's Dr. Kamal Gupta in the Hisar constituency. Dr. Gupta currently serves as a minister in the government led by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

Earlier this year, the Forbes list of the 10 wealthiest women in India crowned Savitri Jindal as the richest woman in the country. Married to the late industrialist and former minister O.P. Jindal, Savitri boasts a staggering net worth of $29.1 billion, according to Forbes. Her son, Naveen Jindal, made headlines by resigning from the Congress party on Sunday. Naveen had previously served as a Congress Member of Parliament representing the Kurukshetra constituency in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2014.

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