Rohtak: Former Haryana finance minister Sampat Singh, who had recently quit the Congress, joined the ruling BJP in the state on Wednesday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Singh had resigned from the Congress on Monday, alleging that he was not given his due in the party. He joined the BJP at Meham, shortly before the BJP president was to address an election rally for the October 21 Haryana Assembly polls.
Shah and other party BJP leaders present at the dais welcomed Singh into the party fold. The veteran leader's decision to quit the Congress came just two weeks ahead of the election.
Singh, a minister in the erstwhile INLD government in the state, had quit the regional party to join the Congress. But he claimed that he was not given his due share even though he helped the Congress come to power in Haryana in 2009.
He was an aspirant from the Nalwa segment for the upcoming polls. A few days back, Chief Minister M L Khattar had indicated that Sampat Singh might join the BJP.
While speaking to reporters in Rohtak on Sunday, Khattar had praised him, saying, "He is a good person. When he was in the government, his performance was good. If he joins, then we will let you know."
On Saturday, former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar resigned from the party, alleging that it was going through an "existential crisis" "because of serious internal contradictions".
He had been miffed with the Congress ever since he was replaced as state unit chief by Kumari Selja last month. Last week, he and his supporters protested outside Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi, alleging corruption in distribution of tickets for the assembly polls.
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