Himachal BJP leader Ranjit Singh, close aide of ex CM Dhumal joins Congress

Himachal Pradesh BJP leader Ranjit Singh, a close aide of former chief minister and senior party leader Prem Kumar Dhumal, joined the Congress on Wednesday, leaders of the ruling party in the state said here.

Singh joined the Congress in New Delhi in the presence of the party's in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla, they said.

Ranjit Singh had contested the 2022 Himachal Assembly polls from Sujanpur on a BJP ticket but lost to Rajinder Rana, the then Congress candidate from the seat.
 

Rana is one of the six Congress rebels who had voted in favour of the BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha elections held on February 27 and was later disqualified from the Assembly. All six then joined the BJP and were fielded from their respective constituencies for bypolls to the seats.

After Rana joined the BJP, Dhumal announced open support for him and started campaigning in his favour.

Earlier, Singh had strongly protested Rana's inclusion in the BJP and announced that he would contest the bypoll as an Independent.

The latest development indicates that the Congress might field Singh from the Sujanpur Assembly seat.