Kuldeep Bishnoi, his wife Renuka join BJP; he says Congress in “self-destruct mode”

Kuldeep Bishnoi joined the BJP in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and BJP general secretary Arun Singh.

Former Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi and his wife, Renuka Bishnoi joined the BJP, at the party’s national headquarters in Delhi on August 4 after having quit as MLA in the Haryana Assembly the previous day in a move that has long been anticipated.

Mr. Bishnoi joined the BJP in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and BJP general secretary Arun Singh. An MLA for four terms and an MP for two terms, Mr. Bishnoi lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “best” Indian Prime Minister and praised Mr. Khattar for keeping a “spotless” reputation despite being Chief Minister for over eight years.

The move by Mr. Bishnoi of joining the BJP was anticipated after he was expelled by the Congress for voting for the BJP in the recent Rajya Sabha polls. Ms. Renuka Bishnoi, who joined the BJP along with her husband, is also a former MLA.

“I wanted to join the BJP for a long time now, still I wanted to give the Congress one more chance as I had been a Congressman for a long time. What can one do if the Congress is in a self-destruct mode?” said Mr. Bishnoi. Incidentally, Mr. Bishnoi had also headed the Haryana Janhit Party (HJP) founded by former Chief Minister of the State Bhajan Lal (also Mr. Bishnoi’s father) and had a three year alliance with the BJP that ended just before the 2014 Assembly polls.

Inducting him into the party, Mr. Khattar noted that the couple’s young son is also in politics and said the BJP welcomes the family. He said Kuldeep Bishnoi (52) also mentors an association of the Bishnoi community which has sizeable presence in Rajasthan as well and added his presence in the BJP will strengthen it in Haryana and the neighbouring State.

He noted that Bishnoi has been supporting Mr. Modi’s leadership and had backed the BJP during the recent Rajya Sabha polls despite being a Congress MLA. It was a close contest and he fulfilled his assurance of voting for our candidate, Mr. Khattar said.

Mr. Bishnoi and all those who have joined the BJP with him will be given responsibility according to their seniority, said Om Prakash Dhankar, president of Haryana BJP.