After serving as ABP News’ firebrand anchor for five years, Rubika Liyaquat has now quit the channel to join Bharat24 as vice-president. The journalist is also set to launch her independent YouTube channel, exchange4media reported.

The development was confirmed by Bharat24 editor-in-chief Jagdish Chandra, who said the channel is “about to complete a year in August 2023” and in the run up to the upcoming elections, Bharat 24 is building a “strong team of experienced professionals starting with Liyaquat”.

Liyaquat, who started her career in 2007, has also worked with News24, Aaj Tak, Zee News, and Live India TV. She is known for her shows Taal Thok Ke and Master Stroke. Meanwhile, under Chandra, Bharat24 has ambitions to go from regional to national.

Bharat24 calls itself the “vision of new India”. Chandra launched the Hindi news channel in August last year in an event attended by I&B minister Anurag Thakur and Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell head Amit Malviya. The festivities included posters across Indian cities calling Modi “the man of universe” and “yug purush of the 2019 Kashmir revolution”.

As Newslaundry reported at the time, Chandra said, “We take the opposition along, but one can’t have a bias against the government...Governments are made with the mandate of the people. The media must respect that.”

And Bharat24 – dedicated to lionising Modi, Amit Shah and the BJP – is how Chandra puts his ideas in practice. Read all about it here.

Update at 6:48 pm, June 8: The ETV group does not own Bharat24. This has been corrected.