Former Congress leader SM Krishna on Thursday said the party does not have a leader, let alone a competitor to match Prime Minister Narendra Modi, News18 reported on Thursday. His statement follows his induction into the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday.

Criticising Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, Krishna said he did not think the party was being led by someone with the “needed credibility” to be accepted by the masses. He said the Congress suffered from the “curse” of dynastic politics. “Even to hold the party together, they do not have a serious-minded leader.”

Shedding light on what could have led to his quitting the Congress, the 84-year-old said that while Congress President Sonia Gandhi had a “pulse of the Congress workers”, he never shared a cordial relationship with Rahul Gandhi.

Karnataka BJP President BS Yeddyurappa had announced the former Union minister’s decision to switch camps on March 14 after he resigned from the Congress on January 29, alleging that the party had sidelined him. “Congress does not want leaders these days, they only want managers who can handle a situation,” said Krishna, who had been a senior member of the Congress in Karnataka and had been with the party for nearly 46 years.

The 84-year-old’s move could spell trouble for the Congress in Karnataka, where Assembly elections will be held next year. The party’s embarrassing loss in the recent Assembly elections had drawn reactions from a number of Congress leaders. Former minister Ashwani Kumar had said that Congress now faces the threat of losing its relevance as a national party.

In 2011, Krishna had erroneously read his Portuguese counterpart’s speech while representing India at the United Nations. His actions had drawn criticism from Modi, who was chief minister of Gujarat then. “I just read the first two lines of the speech...and the media made much of that...Many commented and PM Modi’s comment is also one of them,” NDTV quoted Krishna as saying.