He has been a turncoat in Jharkhand politics.

BJP MLA, Jai Prakash Bhai Patel is the son of late Tek Lal Mahto who was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India is recognised as one of the founders and key members of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and who had served five terms in the Jharkhand state legislature. 

Now, Patel has joined the Congress party.  By quitting BJP just before the Lok Sabha elections, Patel has caused a setback to the saffron party in Jharkhand where he represented the Madu Assembly seat in the Hazaribagh LS constituency. 

His background? 

Patel had won by 2062 votes in 2019 by defeating BJP’s current ally AJSU party's Nirmal Mahto.

Earlier, JMM had expelled Patel for defying the party line for six years. This prompted him to support BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

Five years later, Patel has joined the Indian National Congress in the presence of AICC in-charge of Jharkhand Alam Gir Alam, Jharkhand Congress chief Rajesh Thakur, Jharkhand Minister Alamgir Alam and party’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera. He has said that BJP’s ideologies didn’t align with his father Tek Lal Mahto’s. 

He praised Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Nyay Jodo Yatra, and expressed confidence that the INDIA alliance will win all the 14 seats in the Jharkhand Lok Sabha elections. 

He added that he didn’t join the party under any pressure but for the better future of Jharkhand, to complete his father’s dreams and to strengthen the INDIA alliance in the country.

“I don’t care about my post, I want to save Jharkhand,” he said. Mr. Patel is an MLA from the Mandu Assembly constituency that falls under the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha segment. 

Earlier he had been an MLA of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). Just before the election in 2019, Mr. Patel switched sides from JMM to contest on a BJP ticket.