Monday, 13 September 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
The Purola MLA Rajkumar left the Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi on Sunday. Ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections, this is being seen as another point scored over the Congress by the BJP which had inducted the independent MLA from Dhanaulti, Pritam Singh Panwar into its fold just a few days ago on September 8. On Sunday, the Purola MLA from Congress joined the BJP in presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, BJP’s national media in-charge Anil Baluni and the party’s state president Madan Kaushik.
It is pertinent to mention here that Rajkumar was earlier scheduled to join the BJP formally on Saturday but the programme was deferred due to some reasons. If sources are to be believed, he had sought an Assembly ticket from Dehradun district in the 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections. One of the major reasons for him leaving the Congress is said to be uncertainty regarding his chances of getting a ticket from the Congress to contest the coming Vidhan Sabha election, according to sources.
It is pertinent to mention here that Rajkumar was earlier in the BJP and has basically returned to it after a stint in the Congress. He was fielded by the BJP in the 2007 Assembly polls from the then reserved seat of Sahaspur and he had won from the constituency. Later in 2012, when Sahaspur became a general constituency, he contested as an independent candidate from the Purola constituency but came second after the victorious BJP candidate Malchand. In 2017, Rajkumar became a member of the Congress which fielded him from the Purola constituency. He has been representing the constituency since his victory in the last Assembly polls.
It is worth mentioning here that while some BJP leaders claim that more leaders and MLAs of the Congress are in touch with the intention of joining the BJP, the Congress in turn is also claiming that various leaders of the BJP are planning to shift to the Congress. Further developments are expected in the coming days.
