Kuldeep Bishnoi, ex-Congress leader, joins BJP; calls Narendra Modi ‘best’ Prime Minister

New Delhi: Former Congress leader from Haryana Kuldeep Bishnoi Thursday (August 4) joined the BJP, a day after resigning from the Haryana Assembly. Bishnoi and his wife Renuka Bishnoi were inducted into the BJP in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and other saffron party leaders. 

Kuldeep Bishnoi hailed Narendra Modi as the "best" Indian prime minister who always thinks about the country and the welfare of the poor. Further, he lauded Khattar for maintaining a "spotless" reputation despite serving as the chief minister for more than eight years, PTI reported. He also met BJP president JP Nadda after joining the party in Delhi. 

हरियाणा के यशस्वी जनप्रतिनिधि श्री @bishnoikuldeep जी का भारतीय जनता पार्टी में हार्दिक स्वागत है।

आज पार्टी के दिल्ली कार्यालय में उन्होंने सदस्यता ग्रहण की। इस दौरान हरियाणा के अत्यंत लोकप्रिय मुख्यमंत्री श्री मनोहर लाल खट्टर जी की उपस्थिति विशेष रही। pic.twitter.com/kx7M8OlEWv — Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) August 4, 2022

In July, Bishnoi had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and JP Nadda in Delhi, setting political circles abuzz. 

Bishnoi, an MLA for four terms and two-time MP, was expelled by Congress from all party positions in June for voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Haryana Rajya Sabha elections, which led to the grand old party leader Ajay Maken losing the seat. Reacting to his suspension on June 11, Bishnoi had tweeted, "Congress also has rules for some leaders and exceptions for others. Rules are applied selectively. Indiscipline has been repeatedly ignored in the past. In my case, I listened to my soul and acted on my morals."

Welcoming him into the party, Khattar said, "He has joined the BJP today, and I hope the BJP will also begin growing inside him very soon.” The Haryana CM said Bishnoi has supported the BJP during the Rajya Sabha poll in June even though he was a Congress MLA.

On Wednesday, after resigning from the Haryana Assembly, Bishnoi had said, "I feel the Congress is no longer what it used to be during Indiraji and Rajiv Gandhiji's time. The Congress has deviated from its ideology. It has been reduced to a party of 'chatukars' (sycophants). Many of those who are running the party are those who either have not fought elections or haven't won for decades." He added, "All decisions taken by them are proving wrong across the entire country." 

(With agency inputs)