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Jan Adhikar Party leader Pappu Yadav joined the Congress and announced the merger of his outfit. A former five-time MP from Bihar, Yadav is the husband of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan and is known for having influence in Seemanchal area of the eastern state.
He was accompanied by his son Sarthak Ranjan and other party leaders as he announced his decision at the AICC headquarters.
Yadav said the Congress leadership gave him respect and he was joining the party’s fight against “dictatorship” in the country to help save democracy and the Constitution.
“The honour that the entire Congress family has given is enough for us. Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have given us a lot of love.
“If anyone has won the hearts of people in India, it is Rahul Gandhi and people love him. He has also raised the concerns of OBCs by raising the issue of holding a caste census,” he said.
“To save this country and its democracy and protect the Constitution, there was no other way except joining Rahul Gandhi’s fight,” he said.
In another boost for the Congress, Suspended BSP leader and Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali joined the Congress in the presence of senior party leaders. After joining the Congress, Mr Ali said that going by the prevailing situation in the country, it is important to join the party in the fight against “divisive” forces.
“On one side are divisive forces and on the other are those fighting to get “nyay (justice)” for the poor and oppressed sections of society. The choice is very clear,” Mr Ali said, asserting that the time has come to decide where one stands.
If we have to fight divisive forces, one has to strengthen the Congress under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
“The ideology with which we started our politics… we have to strengthen the forces fighting against those divisive forces. That is why I took this important decision while charting my future political journey by becoming a member of the Indian National Congress,” he told reporters.
Danish Ali, the sitting MP from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, was suspended last year by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for anti-party activities. He is set to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from the same constituency on a Congress ticket.
