Kuldeep Bishnoi quits as Congress MLA from Haryana assembly, set to join BJP
The younger son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal wants Bhavey Bishnoi to contest Adampur byelection on BJP ticket.
Kuldeep Bishnoi, the Haryana Congress rebel MLA from Adampur, resigned from the assembly on Wednesday, a day before he is set to join the BJP.
Also read: Congress rebel Kuldeep Bishnoi set to join BJP on Thursday
Accompanied with his wife Renuka, 53-year-old Bishnoi met Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta in the Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh and handed over his resignation, paving the way for the Adampur byelection.
According to the convention, Bishnoi signed a one-line resignation letter in front of the Speaker before submitting it. With his resignation, the tally of the Congress in the 90-member House has come down to 30.
Later, Bishnoi, who is the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, told reporters that he will join the BJP in Delhi on Thursday with his supporters.
Responding to a question, the four-time MLA said that he wanted his son Bhavey Bishnoi to contest the byelection from Adampur if the BJP agrees.
“Before starting a new political journey... held a long discussion with my own people and as always received lots of love and support for which I will always be grateful for the people of Adampur,” Bishnoi had tweeted in Hindi before quitting the Congress and the assembly.
The two-time Lok Sabha member Bishnoi had been sulking after the Congress high command did not appoint him as the Haryana Congress chief during the reshuffle and since then he was seen reaching out to the BJP.
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The cross-voting by Bishnoi helped the BJP-JJP backed independent candidate, Kartikeya Sharma, pull off a stunning victory in the recent Rajya Sabha election. The Congress expelled Bishnoi from all party positions after its candidate Ajay Maken lost the election by a whisker due to cross-voting.
Responding to a question about Bishnoi joining the BJP, the Congress Legislature Party leader, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said he is free to take a decision on his political future. “He should have resigned from the Congress the day he had cross-voted. We are ready for the bypoll,” Hooda said.
“Hooda had challenged me to resign, and I accepted his challenge. Now, I challenge him to contest elections and win from Adampur constituency,” news agency ANI quoted Bishnoi as saying after his resignation as an MLA.