Another Jolt To Congress As Former Maharashtra Minister Kripashankar Singh Resigns; Likely To Join BJP

The senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra minister was in touch with state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and had also met close aide of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in June.

Singh submitted his resignation to Congress Maharashtra in-charge Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi. (Image: PTI)

Mumbai: Hours after actor-turned politician Urmila Matondkar parted ways with the Congress citing act of blatant betrayal, another party leader from Maharashtra Kripashankar Singh has reportedly tendered his resignation. The senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra minister was in touch with state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and had also met close aide of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in June, this year. Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, last week, visited Singh's residence to offer prayers to Lord Ganesh. According to initial reports, Singh officially left the party earlier in the day submitted his resignation to Congress Maharashtra in-charge Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi. Some reports also suggest that main reason behind Singh's exodus is the ongoing tussle between him and Kharge over ticket distribution in screen committee. Even his meeting with BJP leaders had fueled speculations of him joining the saffron clad. Singh was minister of state for Home in Vilasrao Deshmukh cabinet. He was considered as a leader of North Indians in Mumbai. Earlier in the day, Congress star face Urmila Matondkar party ways from the party within months after joining it during the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. Matondkar has blamed 'petty in-house politics' for the move. Issuing a press statement, Matondkar expressed her dismay over her letter written to Mumbai Congress President Milind Deora, that was leaked to the media. She also said that the persons named in the letter for the shoddy performance of Congress in Mumbai North, were rewarded with newer positions instead of holding them accountable for their acts and omissions. The actress said the Congress leadership was not serious about bring about a change and transformation in the organisation for betterment of the party. These exodus come as a big blow to the party as the state is heading for Assembly elections which are due later this year. Both BJP and its ally Shiv Sena have agreed to contest on equal number of seats in the 288-member assembly. However, some reports suggest that the saffron party is now keen on fighting elections on more number of seats. "BJP is keen to contest a number of seats than the Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra assembly elections in the view of the "changed" political scenario in the state," BJP sources told news agency PTI.  With the BJP returning to power at the Centre with a bigger mandate and the party confident of popular support after the Modi government's move to repeal provisions of Article 370, a section of the party leaders believes the terms of engagement with the ally should be renegotiated. State Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged as the alliance's foremost leader and enjoys support from all sections of society, a BJP leader said, adding that the Sena will have no other option but to agree to his party's demand if the push comes to shove. The BJP may look to contest anywhere between 160-170 seats, he said.