After RPN Singh's resignation, Congress on Tuesday appointed Avinash Pande as the party's Jharkhand in-charge, news agency ANI reported.
Earlier in the day, in a major setback to the Congress just ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, RPN Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 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.
"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.
After joining the BJP, Singh said the Congress is no longer what it used to be. "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.
Singh 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," he added.
The 57-year-old former Congress loyalist from the erstwhile royal family of Sainthwar of Kushinagar (Padrauna) was an MLA from the Padrauna constituency of Uttar Pradesh (1996-2009), just like his father CPN Singh.
