Chandigarh/IBNS: In a jolt to the Congress ahead of the assembly elections, Haryana MLA Kiran Choudhry and her daughter Shruti Choudhry joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday.

The two leaders dumped the Congress and joined the BJP in presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and his predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar, a saffron leader who is now a Union Minister.

Kiran Choudhry is the daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal.

Kiran Choudhry posted on X, "New beginning, a new dawn. Today, I took the membership of Bharatiya Janata Party along with my workers for the purpose of developing the region and state for the concept of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and one India, great India.

"Our promise is that following the footsteps of Choudhary Bansi Lal ji, we will always remain dedicated to the welfare of Haryana and the people of the region."

Kiran quit the Congress alleging the grand old party was being run as a "personal fiefdom".

".. it is most unfortunate that the Congress Party in Haryana is being run as the personal fiefdom leaving no space for sincere voices like mine, who have been stifled, humiliated and conspired against in a most well-orchestrated and systematic manner, thus, significantly hampering my diligent efforts to represent our people and uphold the values, I have always stood for," she had said in the resignation letter.

Shruti Choudhry posted on X, "Today I joined the Bharatiya Janata Party... Our promise is that for the development of Haryana and the people of the region, we will provide new impetus to public service and public struggle with new energy and new thinking."

Haryana will go to polls at the end of this year.