"A new beginning for me," says RPN Singh as he joins BJP after quitting Congress

Singh’s switch is second big exit from the Congress in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. Before him, Jitin Prasada, joined the BJP and was also sworn in as a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.

Congress, in its first reaction, called Singh a coward.

"The battle which Congress party is fighting can be fought only with bravery... It requires courage, strength and Priyanka Gandhi Ji has said that coward people can't fight it," Congress Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said while commenting on Singh's resignation.

READ: MC Election Update Today January 25: SC seeks response from Centre, EC on PIL against poll freebies

UP assembly elections will be held in seven phases starting February 10. The counting of votes will be held on March 1o.

The string of resignation in the Congress began two years ago with the exit of Jyotiraditya Scindia. Since then, the party has been facing internal crisis. In August 2020, as many as 23 leaders wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking "visible and full-time" leadership and collective decision-making in the grand old party.

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उत्तर प्रदेश के वरिष्ठ नेता, आरपीएन सिंह जी का भाजपा परिवार में हृदय से स्वागत है। यशस्वी प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी के नेतृत्व में राष्ट्र सेवा में समर्पित विश्व के सबसे बड़े राजनीतिक दल से जुड़कर आप सतत राष्ट्र की सेवा में कार्यरत रहे, मेरी यही कामना है। मुझे पूरा विश्वास है कि जनसेवा में आपके श्रेष्ठ अनुभव से पार्टी के विकास के संकल्प को और अधिक मजबूती और ऊर्जा मिलेगी।

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- Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) 25 Jan 2022

Singh is likely to be fielded against Swami Prasad Maurya on a BJP ticket from Padrauna seat in eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar. He had lost Padrauna seat to Maurya in the 2017 assembly elections. Maurya, former Cabinet minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP who recently switched to the Samajwadi Party (SP).

A descendant of the royal family of Sainthwar of Kushinagar, 57-year-old Singh was considered close to Gandhis and  his name was included in the list of Congress' star campaigners for UP elections released on January 24.

READ: Prashant Kishor says Congress needs 'revamp' to defeat BJP, current leadership 'sceptical' about him

Popularly known as Raja Saheb of Padrauna, Singh had been president of UP Youth Congress between 1997 and 1999 and secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) between 2003 and 2006.

Singh was a member of legislative assembly (MLA) from Padrauna for three consecutive terms between 1996 and 2009. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Padrauna in 2009 but lost to BJP’s Rajesh Pandey in 2014.

Singh has been Union minister of state, road, transport and highways, (2009-2011), Union minister of state, petroleum and natural gas and corporate affairs (2011-2013) and Union minister of state for home affairs (2013-2014) in UPA regimes.

For the BJP, the joining of Singh, a prominent Other Backward Class leader from Uttar Pradesh, will be seen as a counter after many leaders belonging to the backward caste leaders left the party in last many weeks.