Former Minister Mahendra Boddh on Wednesday, quit the Congress and joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) along with around 200 supporters.
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The development has rattled the Congress whose Scheduled Castes (SC) wing he headed for two years until recently.
A Congressman for nearly 50 years, Mr. Boddh told The Hindu, “There was no freehand to fight for the poor within the party, which I can pursue on a different forum.”
Mr. Boddh expressed his willingness to contest on a BSP ticket. Mr. Boddh is pinning hope on securing a ticket to contest the Bhander seat (SC), vacated by former Congress legislator Raksha Santram Saroniya who switched over to the BJP along with 22 rebels in March.