Speculation is rife in political circles that Congress national spokesperson Khushbu Sundar may jump ship to the BJP on Monday in what could be a significant move ahead of assembly elections in home state Tamil Nadu next year.
A senior BJP leader privy to the developments said Khushbu will meet the party’s central team in New Delhi on Monday in the presence of Tamil Nadu unit president L Murugan.
"Discussions are still on. It's almost a deal, but the final modalities are still being worked out. By Monday, there will be clarity and an announcement is expected," said the source.
At the Chennai airport on Sunday, the actor-politician refused to comment whether she was travelling to Delhi to join the BJP. Asked if she was still with the Congress, Khushbu said, “I do not want to talk about anything."
She was in New Delhi in the first week of October. On October 6, when asked if she was joining the BJP, Khusbhu denied it and said “someone is spending Rs 2 per tweet to spread the rumours”.
A cryptic tweet posted on Saturday, however, fueled the rumours.
“Many see a change in me. Well as you age, you evolve n grow, learn n unlearn, perceptions change… you understand the difference between right n wrong. Change is inevitable (sic),” she had tweeted.
Khushbu Sundar had first sparked off rumours of rift with the Congress in July when she backed the BJP-ruled Centre’s new National Education Policy, inviting the ire of her party’s Tamil Nadu unit who accused her of "indiscipline".
Refusing to be a “head nodding robot or puppet”, Khushbu had then stuck to her support for the NEP and apologized to party leader Rahul Gandhi for her contrarian views. She, however, had denied rumours of joining the BJP back then.
The noted actor, who has 200 films, soap operas and television shows to her credit, had entered politics in 2010, joining the DMK which ruled in Tamil Nadu then. After a rift with party leadership, Khushbu Sundar switched to the Congress in 2014.