The rebel BJP leader Dhani Lal Shah has joined Congress along with his followers in the presence of PCC chief Pritam Singh on Tuesday. Shah, a former president of Bilangana block in Tehri, is an influential leader of the Dalit community.
Basically a Congressman, Shah had left the party in 2016 when the former chief minister Harish Rawat had roped in then Ghansali MLA (independent) Bheem Lal Arya into Congress.
He had later joined BJP, however in the 2017 Assembly election, he had contested from Ghansali Assembly seat as an independent after he was denied ticket by BJP. In the elections, he had pushed Bheem Lal Arya, the Congress candidate, to a distant third position. The seat had been won by Shakti Lal Shah of BJP.
Terming his joining the Congress party as a homecoming, Shah said that he would work to strengthen the party at all levels.