Jolt to BJP in Panipat, ex-councillor joins Congress

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, July 8

In a big setback to the BJP in Panipat, senior BJP leader and former councillor Vijay Jain joined the Congress in the presence of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Congress state president Udai Bhan in Rohtak on Monday.

Jain is considered to be a strong contender from the Panipat Rural constituency. He reached Rohtak along with his supporters and joined the Congress. Ending all speculations, Jain on Monday sent his resignation to BJP district president Dushyant Bhatt, citing the reason as discrimination in the development works in his Ward 26 and in the Panipat Rural Assembly area.

The former councillor said he raised his voice against the discrimination in development works at various platforms in the party, but to no avail. After allegedly being ignored by the party, he held a meeting with his supporters and decided to quit the party.

This is the second big setback to the party within two months. Just a week before the Lok Sabha elections, former BJP MLA Rohita Rewri and her husband Surender Rewri also joined the Congress after accusing the BJP leaders of ignoring them.

Jain won the election from Ward 26 on the BJP’s ticket in 2019. He had started campaigning in Panipat Rural constituency villages and outer colonies. “Resignation of former MC councillor Vijay Jain was received on WhatsApp today and it has been accepted. This is the election time and several people have their ambitions, but the BJP is not a stage to fulfill anyone’s ambitions. The BJP is a cadre-based party and it has its own ideology,” said Dushyant Bhatt, BJP’s district president.