Rao Narbir Singh threatens to switch to Congress ahead of Haryana polls

Tribune News Service

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Gurugram, September 2

Giving last-minute jitters to the BJP, party leader and former minister Rao Narbir Singh has announced that if the party fails to give him a ticket this time, he will contest from the Congress.

Narbir, who has been citing himself as the only winnable candidate for the BJP from the Badshahpur assembly segment, has in a public meeting late Sunday night announced that he had no plans to contest as an independent candidate and if the fails him, he will go to the Congress. His statement has validated the reports of his negotiations with the Congress.

“I am fighting this election and not as an independent candidate. There are only two parties in the fray so if the BJP does not give me a ticket, I will move to the Congress,” said Narbir.

He is the latest leader of the party to be indulging in pressure politics right before the candidate list announcement.

While sure of his ticket, Narbir’s prospects have been shadowed by the entry of former MP and senior party leader Sudha Yadav who now wants to get back in active role and contest Vidhan Sabha.

Though not publically announced, Sudha has sought a ticket from Badshahpur.

Narbir also faces stiff resistance from Gurugram MP and minister of state Rao Inderjit Singh, who is currently having maximum influence on decision of tickets in Ahirwal including Badshahpur.

Narbir has openly held Inderjit responsible for non-allocation of ticket to him in the last election, while the latter has repeatedly highlighted Narbir’s camp working against him in the Lok Sabha election and the party candidate in 2019 election.

Another BJP leader, Manish Yadav, who contested the election in 2019 and lost, is seeking a ticket against Narbir. “Party is above all. It’s a democratic setup where winnability is assessed and a ticket is allotted. You have to trust the process. If any leader feels its him people will vote for and can threaten to switch to the opposition right before election, the party will take a notice of the same,” Yadav said.

In addition to Manish Yadav, Narbir and Sudha, former officer on special duty to the party’s ex-Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Jawahar Yadav, and the party’s district president Kamal Yadav too are in the fray.

The Badshahpur segment has 4.5 lakh voters, the highest in Haryana.