Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Congress leader and former MLA Ram Singh Netaji and three others on Monday joined the rival Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Vinay Kumar Mishra, who is the son of senior Congress leader Mahabal Mishra and unsuccessfully contested from the Palam Assembly seat, also joined the AAP.
Councillor and social worker Jai Bhagwan Upkar Ji from Rohini ward of Bawana Assembly and Naveen Dipu Chaudhary, a social activist working in the Gandhinagar area who has been associated with the Congress for a long time, too joined the AAP.
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Netaji said he was impressed by the work done by the AAP government and "that is the reason I decided to leave Congress".
He won from the Badarpur Assembly constituency twice -- once as a BSP candidate and second time as an Independent.
Kejriwal said influenced by the policies of the party and the work of the AAP-led Delhi government, they are "joining our family".
"They are warmly welcomed in the Aam Aadmi Party," he said.
Earlier on January 9, former Congress MLA and ex-deputy speaker of Delhi Vidhan Sabha Shoaib Iqbal joined the Kejriwal-led party. A five-time MLA from Matia Mahal and two Congress MCD councillors -- Aley Mohammed Iqbal and Sultana Abadi -- also switched parties serving a blow to the Congress.
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In four-term Congress MLA Prahlad Singh Sawhney, who was elected in the 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013 elections, had joined the AAP.
Election to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 8.
(With inputs from agencies)
