Rajasthan: Several Congress leaders join BJP

Jaipur, Apr 7 (PTI) A day after the public meeting of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge here, several party leaders including former MLA Gangajal Meel and PCC vice president Sushil Sharma left the party and joined the BJP on Sunday.

Hanuman Meel, who contested assembly elections on Congress tickets from Suratgarh, former PCC vice president Ashok Awasthi and several others joined the BJP in the presence of BJP leaders including Onkar Singh Lakhawat, Narayan Panchariya and Arun Chaturvedi.

Sushil Sharma alleged there is disappointment among the dedicated workers of the Congress due to factionalism. He claimed he worked for the Congress for years but now there was no one to listen to the party workers.

He said workers like him, who believe in the Sanatan Dharma, were disappointed due to the stand taken by the Congress on the issue of Ram temple.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central government has proved its mettle not only in the country, but also abroad. Influenced by this, with nationalist thinking, I have decided to leave the Congress and join the BJP," he said.

Former Congress MLA Meel accused PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra and former chief mister Ashok Gehlot of acting arbitrarily in ticket distribution for the assembly elections.

"When we complained about this to state in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, he also did not listen to us. There is complete leg pulling going on in the Congress," he said.

Apart from Congress leaders, several other people from different fields, including retired officers, joined the BJP at the party's state headquarters in Jaipur. PTI