Haryana: Rebel Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi resigns from Vidhan Sabha, likely to join BJP Thursday

Kuldeep, 53, is a two-time member of parliament, and four-time member of legislative assembly from Adampur. He is the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal.

Talking to media persons, Kuldeep said: “Had I not taken this step, people would have said that Kuldeep Bishnoi has no strength. Only those people who have some strength in them, take such steps.”

He further said, “Although, at present, I do not have any sitting MLAs with me, I have support of seven former MLAs. I shall give their names to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar tomorrow. Whenever he [Khattar] wants, he can invite them and I shall make them join the BJP the same day.”

Taking a dig at the Congress, Kuldeep said: “The Congress has deviated from its ideology. I had said it earlier also that the Congress under Indira Gandhi ji and Rajiv Gandhi ji was a lot different. It has now been reduced to a party of chatukhaars (sycophants). The party is being run by such people who have never contested polls, or they haven’t won any poll for decades.”

Talking about Kuldeep’s resignation, Gian Chand Gupta said: “When any member submits his/her resignation, it leaves no doubt. But the language of the resignation requires legal examination. By today evening, this examination will be conducted. Once everything is in order, the resignation shall be accepted. The information shall be sent to the Election Commission of India and the seat [Adampur] shall fall vacant necessitating a bypoll.”

Kuldeep’s decision to quit came nearly four months after he rebelled against his own party for not considering him for the post of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president.

Despite hectic lobbying for the post, the Congress high command appointed Bhupinder Singh Hooda loyalist Udai Bhan as HPCC president on April 27.

Kuldeep had also cross-voted in the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls, resulting in Congress nominee Ajay Maken’s loss and clearing the way for BJP-JJP backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma. Thereafter, he was expelled from all party positions.

Dropping hints of joining the BJP, Kuldeep tweeted on Tuesday morning: “August 4, 2022, 10.10 am”. This tweet was followed by another one, in which he wrote – “Don’t be afraid to start over. It’s a chance to build something better this time.”

Over the past few weeks, Kuldeep had met several top BJP leaders in Chandigarh and New Delhi. On July 10, he met BJP chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Kuldeep had himself been tweeting his pictures with top BJP leaders.

Asked about the possibility of Kuldeep joining the BJP, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “He [Kuldeep Bishnoi] is free to take his own decision. The Congress is ready for Adampur’s bypoll.”

Kuldeep had quit the Congress earlier also. In 2007, after the Congress chose Bhupinder Singh Hooda as its chief ministerial candidate, Kuldeep and his father Bhajan Lal quit the party and floated Haryana Janhit Congress.

The Haryana Janhit Congress had formed an alliance with the BJP and jointly contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Haryana. However, both the parties contested the 2014 assembly polls separately. Kuldeep had returned to the Congress about six years ago.

Ever since Kuldeep was not considered for HPCC president’s post, he had minced no words in his tweets. After cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls on June 10, he had posted a cryptic tweet: “I know how to crush a snake’s hood. I do not leave the jungle in fear of snakes.”

In an interview with The Indian Express in June, soon after he cross-voted in Rajya Sabha polls, Kuldeep had said the Congress was in a “self-destruction mode”, and called Rahul Gandhi an “inaccessible” leader who “takes decisions under pressure”.