Brijendra Singh, a former Member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party representing Hisar in Haryana, has announced his resignation from the party and has joined the Congress just a few weeks before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Singh reportedly explained his big move by listing issues like farmers issues, Agniveer row and the wrestlers protests, he said, "I quit the BJP and joined the Congress because of political and ideological differences."
He also added, "From farmers' issues to Agniveers to the wrestler's protests - I differed on many things. I am very happy to join the Congress family," as he joined Congress on Sunday.
"The BJP-JJP alliance was also another major reason behind my unease in the BJP," he added.
Singh officially joined the opposition party during a gathering at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi.
Senior leaders of the Congress party, namely Ajay Maken, Mukul Wasnik, and Deepak Babaria, were in attendance at Kharge's residence when Singh officially joined the party.
According to an NDTV report, Singh, who transitioned from being a bureaucrat to a politician, is expected to be the party's nominee for the Hisar constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Singh on his X handle wrote, "I have resigned from the primary membership of BJP due to compelling political reasons. I extend gratitude to the party, national president JP Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Amit Shah for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Member of Parliament for Hisar."
"I have also resigned from Lok Sabha membership. I am grateful to the people of Hisar for giving me the opportunity to represent them and raise their demands as their MP. The resolve of public service with which I left the IAS job and entered politics will continue," he added,
In New Delhi, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said Brijendra Singh's father and BJP leader Birender Singh is also likely to join the grand old party in the next few days.
Maken said the Congress is happy to announce that Brijendra Singh is joining the party.
His father and former Union minister Birender Singh is also likely to join the Congress in the next few days, Maken said.
"Chaudhary Birender Singh has informed (us) that he would join the party at a public meeting," the Congress treasurer added.
Brijendra Singh is the great-grandson of prominent Jat leader Sir Chhotu Ram.
In October last year, Birender Singh had served an ultimatum to the BJP, virtually threatening to quit if the party continued its alliance with the JJP, which he accused of indulging in rampant corruption, in Haryana.
The JJP had extended support to the BJP after the former fell short of the majority in the 2019 Haryana assembly polls.
