A former five-time MP from Bihar, Pappu Yadav, sitting Lok Sabha member Danish Ali, who had been suspended by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and former Lok Sabha member from Jammu, Chowdhary Lal Singh and a BJP MLA from Jharkhand, Jai Prakash Bhai Patel, were among the new entrants to the Congress party on March 20.
The joining of each leader was announced by organising separate press conferences, in the presence of the respective Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charges, to dispel the notion that people are only leaving the Congress party.
“A sitting BJP MP from Haryana recently joined, followed by a sitting BJP MP from Rajasthan. You will see many more people joining in the days to come as they realise that the Congress is the only hope,” chairman of Congress’ publicity wing, Pawan Khera, said.
Separately, sitting Lok Sabha member from Assam and Congress leader Abdul Khaleque, who had resigned after being denied a ticket to contest from the Barpeta seat, took back his resignation after meeting party president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Among the new recruits, Mr. Singh, a two-term former Congress MP who joined the BJP in 2014, has been in controversy, especially over his support to the accused in the 2018 Kathua gang rape case.
Mr. Singh had formed the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party (DSSP) after severing ties with the BJP, and merged his outfit too with the Congress. The 65-year-old leader, who is from Kathua district, could be fielded against BJP Minister Jitendra Singh from the Udhampur parliamentary constituency which is going to polls in the first phase on April 19. “Whichever party I join always wins,” Mr. Singh said.
The induction of Mr. Yadav, whose wife Ranjeet Ranjan is a Rajya Sabha member and a senior Congress leader, is aimed at bolstering the party’s chances in the Seemanchal region of Bihar. Mr. Yadav also formally merged his party, Jan Adhikar Party, with the Congress after his induction at the AICC headquarters.
Accompanied by his son Sarthak Ranjan and other party leaders, Mr. Yadav said he was joining the party’s fight against “dictatorship” in the country to help save democracy and the Constitution.
“The honour that the entire Congress family has given is enough for us. Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have given us a lot of love. If anyone has won the hearts of people in India, it is Rahul Gandhi and people love him. He has also raised the concerns of OBCs [Other Backward Classes] by raising the issue of holding a caste census,” he said.
Mr. Ali, who had been suspended by the BSP, said it is important to join the grand old party in the fight against “divisive” forces. “On one side are divisive forces and on the other are those forces fighting to get nyay [justice] for the poor and oppressed sections of society, and the choice is very clear. If we have to fight with divisive forces, then one has to strengthen the Congress under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
A sitting MP from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Ali had earlier met Ms Gandhi and is likely to contest the Lok Sabha election from the same constituency on a Congress ticket.
The BJP MLA from Jharkhand, Mr. Patel, too could be fielded by the Congress from the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming election. After joining, he said he would work to strengthen the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and ensure that all the 14 Lok Sabha seats from the State are won by them.
