New Delhi: Congress heavyweight and former Union minister RPN Singh has resigned from the grand old party announcing his intentions to "begin a new chapter."
According to ABP News sources, RPN Singh is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly election 2022, after he resigned from Congress.
RPN Singh tendered his resignation from Congress and shared the letter via tweet stating: "Today, at a time, we are celebrating the formation of our great Republic, I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind."
In his resignation letter, RPN Singh thanked Congress President Sonia Gandhi for providing the opportunity to serve the nation, people, and the party.
It is to be noted that RPN Singh's name was included in the list of star campaigners, released on Monday, from Congress for the first phase of the UP assembly election 2022.
The former Congress leader may join the BJP at 3 pm today, as per ABP News sources.
Earlier, fueling speculations, the change in the party became evident when the leader removed Congress from the official account on Twitter profile description.
Apart from the Congress leader, Samajwadi Party MLA Sharad Veer Singh is also expected to join the saffron party.
The BJP’s Central Election Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will also meet on Tuesday to finalise the list of remaining candidates for UP.
Who's Congress leader RPN Singh?
RPN Singh was a Congress MLA from Padrauna assembly seat of Kushinagar district from 1996 to 2009. In 2009, he won the Lok Sabha seat after winning from Kushinagar (then Padrauna) on a Congress ticket. At the time of in Congress regime in the UPA second term, RPN Singh was the minister of state for road and transport, petroleum, and home.
RPN Singh, who belongs to a political family, and his father CPN Singh held the position of the minister of state for defense in the Indira Gandhi government. As a scion of the royal family of Sainthwar of Kushinagar, RPN Singh has remained a loyalist of the Congress Party.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader defeated the then BSP state president Swami Prasad Maurya in UP. He had contested the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Congress but had to face defeat both times. At present, RPN is the national general secretary of Congress and in charge of Jharkhand State.
Last year Jitin Prasada, son of the late Congress veteran Jitendra Prasada, joined the BJP claiming that he had been unable to contribute and work for the benefit of the people. At that time, Congress ended up losing Prasada, who joined the saffron party was also sworn in as a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.