A blow to the party, Pappu and Danish Ali join Congress
The Congress party received a boost ahead of the Lok Sabha elections when three state leaders joined the party today at separate events held at the AICC headquarters here: Rajesh Ranjan (Pappu Yadav), a former member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar; Kunwar Danish Ali, an LS member from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh; and Lal Singh, a former member of the Lok Sabha from Jammu & Kashmir.
Abdul Khaleque, an LS member from Barpeta in Assam, retracted his resignation today thanks to the astute intervention of Rana KP Singh, the former speaker of the Punjab Assembly and head of the screening committee for eastern Indian states, including the northeast. After being refused a ticket, Khaleque withdrew from the party’s main membership.
Jai Prakash Patel, the BJP’s party whip in the Jharkhand legislature and a three-time MLA, also joined the Congress. Singh joined the Congress with his Dogra Swabhiman Sanghathan, whereas Yadav combined his Jan Adhikar Party.
Pappu Yadav said at the time that the secular philosophy of the Congress had always inspired him. Danish Ali was all praise for the Congress’s inclusive attitude.
Two sitting BJP MPs—one from Rajasthan and one from Haryana—joined the party earlier, and more would follow, according to Congress spokesman Pawan Khera.
The party’s central leadership contacted Abdul Khaleque, a current MLA from Barpeta and two-time previous MLA, according to a letter he addressed to Mallikarjun Kharge. Khaleque responded, “I withdraw my resignation and wish to work under your and Rahul Gandhi’s able leadership because strengthening the Congress is the need of the hour.”
CEC talks about four state candidates.
During its meeting on Wednesday, the Congress Central Election Committee deliberated on potential candidates for the Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress, chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Sonia Gandhi, the previous president of the party, and other CWC members.
