Congress Padrauna candidate resigns: Senior Congress leader RPN Singh's decision to quit the party and join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has triggered panic in the Uttar Pradesh unit of the grand old party.
Hours after Singh, a former Union minister joined the BJP at the party headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday, Congress' Kushinagar district president resigned. Rajkumar Singh, in his resignation letter, stated that he was stepping down from the post with 'immediate effect'.
In further embarrassment for the Congress, party's candidate from Padrauna seat Manish Jaiswal 'Mantu' also resigned from the party. "I thank the party leadership for trusting me, however, under the present circumstances I won't be able to contest the election. I would want to return my poll ticket and also resign from the primary membership of the party," Jaiswal said in the resignation letter addressed UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu.
Jaiswal said in the resignation letter addressed UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu.
RPN Singh is a former MP from Kushinagar and has served as Union Minister of State for Home Affairs. He hails from Padrauna and is a scion of the royal family there.
RPN Singh has earlier contested and represented the Padrauna assembly constituency. He may contest from the seat once again.
He had also defeated Swami Prasad Mourya, who recently quit the BJP and joined the Samajwadi Party, from the Kushinagar Lok Sabha seat in 2009.
ALSO READ: Why BJP? RPN Singh reveals reason for joining the saffron party
