RJD leader Akhilesh Singh joins Congress
The Congress on Monday got a shot in the arm on the eve of the Bihar Assembly elections, as senior RJD leader and former Union minister Akhilesh Singh joined the party. Hailing from the East Champaran area, Mr Singh, who is a formidable Bhumihar leader, had been sulking since the RJD-LJP seat adjustment.
The Congress in-charge of Bihar Mukul Wasnik made the announcement of Mr Singh joining the party to the media on Monday. Mr Singh was a Union minister of state in the first term of the UPA. He had resigned from the primary membership of the RJD on Saturday. Though the RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav had called on Mr Singh last week, he apparently failed in his bid to hold him back in the party.
Mr Singh told reporters that he had been peeved at the seat adjustment between the RJD-LJP by which the Ram Vilas Paswan led party was given the Assembly constituencies in the East Champaran area at the cost of the party’s Muslim and upper caste workers.
"I had told Laluji even during the last year’s general elections that it was suicidal to have no pact with the Congress. But he did not listen to me and even this time he is committing the same mistake," said Mr Singh, who added that he met the Congress president Sonia Gandhi who consented to his joining the Congress.
Mr Singh’s joining the Congress is likely to boost the party’s prospect in the areas of Gaya, Jehanabad, Arwal and Bhojpur where Bhumihar caste voters are in a good number. Mr Singh told reporters that he would not be contesting the Assembly polls and would not even seek tickets for his followers.
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