After the resignation of Capt Ajay Yadav from Haryana Cabinet, the ruling Congress is expected to suffer another jolt ahead of the Assembly polls in October. One of the senior most leaders of the State and former Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, Chaudhary Birender Singh is all set to join BJP.

He held a closed-door meeting with BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi, triggering speculations about his imminent exit from the party. Birender Singh has been targeting Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s style of functioning for a long time within the party forum and even on public platforms.

Talking to The Pioneer, Birender Singh said, “I had met BJP president Amit Shah in Gujarat Bhawan at 8 pm on July 29.”  He, however, refused to divulge the details of the meeting and his future course of action

The speculations about Singh’s departure from the Congress and joining BJP have been there for a while after he had a meeting with former BJP chief Rajnath Singh last month.  But after the meeting with new BJP chief Amit Shah, sources said that it remains a mere formality before he joins the party. “Only modalities are being discussed, how and when to join the BJP”, said a source.

However, Singh said, “For the time being I am very much in Congress. Nobody can speculate about the future and what will happen”.

Singh, who has spent 42 years in the party had not been satisfied with the way of working of Hooda and has refused to contest forthcoming state assembly elections under the leadership of Hooda.

Asked if the party would become weak if he chose to leave it ahead of the polls, Singh said, “I am not the only Congress leader, who holds the responsibility. Moreover what is the use of any post or designation, when you have nothing to doIJ”

He added, “When all the powers lie with Chief Minister (Hooda), then he should take the responsibility of the entire party and make it victorious in the assembly polls”. 

In the run-up to the lok Sabha polls in May this year, Congress MP from Gurgaon Rao Inderjit Singh and  former CPS from Sohna, Dharambir Singh had left Congress, joined BJP and became MPs. Former MlA from Ambala city Vinod Sharma also left the party.

Besides, Chaudhary Birender Singh, President of Jan Chetna Party and former Cabinet Minister with Hooda, Vinod Sharma is also in touch with the BJP high command and can join any time before State Assembly elections.