Before switching sides, this is what BJP ex-mantri Yashwant Sinha said in the past

New Delhi, Jun 27: Yashwant Sinha, the common opposition candidate for the presidential election 2022, has been a part of different political parties in his 38-year-long political career.

Sinha was an IAS officer before he quit the service to join Janata Party. He then migrated to BJP. He served as finance minister and external affairs minister in the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The IAS officer-turned-politician who used to be one of the tallest leaders in the BJP, has in recent years turned into a vociferous critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Yashwant Sinha's journey in BJP

Sinha's exit from the BJP became imminent after Narendra Modi rose through the ranks and became the Prime Minister of India. Marginalised within the BJP, Sinha quit from the saffron party in 2018 citing the "party's condition" and that "democracy in India is in great danger". He joined the TMC just before West Bengal Assembly elections in 2021 and was appointed the party's national vice-president just before the Assembly elections last year.

It may surprise many that, before he left the saffron party, Sinha defended Modi and BJP many times in the past: Here's a brief look at them

It was back in 2013, when preparations were underway for the Lok Sabha election 2014, Yashwant Sinha set off a flutter by projecting the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's name for Prime Minister.

"Wherever I go, the party workers and common people demand to make Modi as BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, and now I too think that it will benefit the party a lot,'' he said.

Sinha continued to defend Modi till as late as 2014, when he said that "Modi is right not to apologise for the Gujarat riots".

During an interview with Headlines Today, Sinha said,"Modi is right...why should he apologise? A 12-year-old issue is being constantly revived to corner Modi whereas the people of this nation have completely forgotten it! It has lost all its momentum.''

Another instnance when Sinha had defend BJP was when he was asked if LK Advani's resignation as the president of the BJP would create a vacuum in the BJP, he said the BJP would only emerge stronger.

The same year, Sinha, had launched a scathing attack on the Congress through an article on ndtv.com, in which he specifically targeted the Gandhis. "When all their shenanigans failed and neither Sonia Gandhi nor Rahul Gandhi were able to match the charismatic appeal of Narendra Modi, Priyanka was brought into the fray," he wrote.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP too has stepped up its efforts ahead of the Presidential polls scheduled for 18 July. The counting of the votes will take place on 21 July, three days before President Ram Nath Kovind's term comes to an end.