RPN Singh, the former Union Minister and a Congress heavyweight from the poll-bound state of Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday announced that he has joined the BJP and vowed to work under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda.
He is set to formally join the saffron party in the presence of top BJP leaders anytime soon.
Today, Singh tendered his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
In a major setback to Congress just ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the Jharkhand in-charge and ex-MP from Kushinagar constituency took to Twitter to inform of his joining.
"This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation-building under the visionary leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah," he said after resigning from the Congress party.
Singh, who had lost the last assembly elections from Padrauna in 2017, is considered close to Gandhis. His name was included in the list of Congress' star campaigners for UP elections released on January 24.
Singh has off-late been sidelined in the Congress and fallen off the Gandhis’ radar. He lost the last election from UP’s Padrauna and sources say he is likely to be fielded from the same seat against SP’s Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently jumped ship from the BJP.
Who is RPN Singh?
A descendent of the royal family of Sainthwar of Kushinagar, RPN Singh has been a loyalist of the Congress Party. He was an MLA from the Padrauna constituency of Uttar Pradesh, just like his late father CPN Singh, between 1996 and 2009, whereafter he was elected as the MP from the constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha election.
In the 16th Lok Sabha election, he lost to BJP’s Rajesh Pandey. He has in the Congress regime also served as the Minister of State for Home Affairs.
Born on April 25, 1964, Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh has served at various positions in the Sonia Gandhi-led party, including as the Secretary of AICC.
In 1997 he was appointed president of the state Youth Congress. Singh was elected MLA from Padrauna again in 2002 and 2007. He became an office-bearer of the AICC In 2003 when he was appointed an AICC secretary.
After being elected from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, he was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers.
During the UPA-2 tenure, he functioned as the Minister of State in Road, Transport and Highways, Petroleum and Natural Gas and Corporate Affairs and Home Affairs.
However, Singh faced a setback by losing successive General Elections in 2014 and 2019 from Kushinagar.
Singh, who had lost the last assembly elections from Padrauna in 2017, is considered close to Gandhis. His name was included in the list of Congress' star campaigners for UP elections released on January 24.
Singh, the party’s Jharkhand in-charge, has off late been sidelined in the Congress and fallen off the Gandhis’ radar. He lost the last election from UP’s Padrauna and sources say he is likely to be fielded from the same seat against SP’s Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently jumped ship from the BJP.
