Senior Congress leader RPN Singh quits party, may join BJP

NEW DELHI: In a major setback to the Congress party, its senior leader RPN Singh on Tuesday resigned from the party. According to reports, Singh has also submitted his resignation to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The resignation of Congress veteran RPN Singh from Uttar Pradesh has intensified speculation that he will soon join the BJP.

Singh has been the Jharkhand in-charge of the Congress party till now. He was clearly sidelined in Congress and lost his connection to the powerful Gandhi family at the heart of Congress politics.

RPN Singh, a descendant of the royal family of Sainthwar of Kushinagar, lost the last election from Padrauna in UP. He is likely to be fielded from the same seat against SP’s Swami Prasad Maurya, who had recently jumped from the BJP.

The son of Congress veteran CPN Singh, he has been a staunch loyalist of the Congress party and MLA from Padrauna constituency of Uttar Pradesh.

RPN Singh was elected MP from this constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha elections. In the 16th Lok Sabha elections, he had to face defeat from Rajesh Pandey of BJP. He has also served as the Minister of State for Home in the Congress regime.