Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader RPN Singh on Tuesday, January 25, joined the BJP in New Delhi in the presence of the saffron party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. 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 Yogi Adityanath government.
“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 Shri @narendramodi, BJP president Shri @JPNadda ji & Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji,” Singh, a former Union minister, had tweeted before his joining. Besides Pradhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress to join the BJP and is a Union minister, was also present for Singh's joining-in ceremony.
Singh joined the BJP a day after he was included in the Congress’s list of star campaigners for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. Before he quit Congress, Singh was the in-charge for Jharkhand affairs of the Congress, where the party is in power along with the JMM. He has earlier represented the Padrauna assembly constituency and had defeated Swami Prasad Maurya from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Singh thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief J.P. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party leadership for inducting hime in the BJP family.
"I worked hard for 32 years in Congress but it is no longer what it used to be. Many asked me to join the BJP for a long time, but I can only say 'Der aaye durust aye’ (better late than never). I will work as a 'karyakarta' (worker) towards fulfilling Prime Minister Modi's dream for nation-building," Singh said.
The former Union minister said that the way the BJP government has worked hard to improve the law and order situation in the state is commendable. "I will do everything that is assigned to me as a small party worker for the development of Uttar Pradesh and country," Singh added.
Before officially joining the BJP, Singh tweeted, "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 Shri @narendramodi, BJP President Shri @JPNadda ji & Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji."
A former Union Minister of State for Home, Singh has been MLA and MP from the party. The Congress has been facing a major exodus of its leaders in Uttar Pradesh. Recently, three candidates named by the party switched sides to other parties. Singh will be a high profile exit from the Uttar Pradesh Congress after Jitin Prasada, who quit the party and now is a minister in the Yogi government. Singh is an influential leader in his area, but could not win two consecutive elections on the Congress ticket. Sources said that he is likely to be fielded on a BJP ticket from the same seat against Samajwadi Party's Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently left the saffron party.