Former Congress leader RPN Singh joins BJP at party office in New Delhi, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
Highlights
- RPN Singh is the second big exit from the Congress in UP after Jitin Prasada quit it last year
- RPN Singh was upset with Congress leadership over his close associates being denied tickets
- For BJP, Singh's entry ahead of polls is seen as a big acquisition that will bolster its prospects
In a setback to the Congress, senior party leader and former Union minister RPN Singh on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Singh, a former MP from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, was upset with the party leadership over his close associates being denied party tickets in the state.
He joined the BJP in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, UP BJP election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, state BJP president Swantantra Dev Singh, Union Ministers Anurag Thakur and Jyotiraditya Scindia and BJP's Rajya Sabha Anil Baluni.
"This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation building under the visionary leadership & guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah ji," he tweeted.
Speaking to reporters at BJP headquarters here, Singh said that 'Congress is no more the one where I had worked, it is not the same ideology '. "I had clearly said in my press conference that the party (Congress) is no more the one where I had worked, it is not the same ideology anymore. I would not like to add anything further to it," Singh said after joining BJP.
Singh is the second big exit from the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after Jitin Prasada quit it last year. Prasada joined the BJP and later became a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath.
"Today, at a time, we are celebrating the formation of our great Republic, I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind," Singh, also the in-charge for Jharkhand affairs of the party, where the party is in power along with the JMM, said on Twitter while announcing his exit from the grand old party.
"I hereby tender my resignation from the primary membership of the Congress party with immediate effect. I thank you for providing me an opportunity to serve the nation, the people and the party," he said in a letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi.
A descendent of the royal family of Sainthwar of Kushinagar, Singh was an MLA from Padrauna between 1996 to 2007, whereafter he was elected as the MP from Kushi Nagar. A scion of the royal family, Singh had served as Union Minister of State for Home Affairs in the UPA government. He lost parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2019.
Notably, RPN Singh's name had figured in the Congress' list of 30-star campaigners for the first phase of the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly election. The list was released by the grand old party on Monday.
The Uttar Pradesh assembly elections will be held in seven phases, starting from February 10 and ending on March 7. Counting is slated for March 10.
READ MORE: India TV Opinion Poll: BJP set for comfortable win in Uttar Pradesh
