The Congress party got a shot in the arm on Thursday when former Lok Sabha MP Ashok Tanwar, who had joined the BJP earlier this January and unsuccessfully contested the general election on the ‘lotus’ symbol, came back to its fold.
He rejoined the grand old party at Rahul Gandhi’s rally at Haryana’s Mahendragarh.
A former Congress MP from Sirsa, Tanwar served as Haryana Congress chief from 2014 to 2019, when he left the party. In 2021, he joined the Trinamool Congress and switched to the AAP the next year. Tanwar left the AAP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, opposing its convener Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to ally with Congress.
Following his exit from the AAP, Ashok Tanwar joined the BJP and contested the general election from Sirsa but lost to Congress’s Kumari Selja.
“The Congress has always raised its voice for the oppressed and deprived sections of the society. Influenced by our struggle and dedication, senior BJP leader, former MP, member of BJP’s campaign committee, and star campaigner Ashok Tanwar joined the Congress,” the main Opposition party said in a post on X.
Ironically though, he was tweeting in support of BJP candidates contesting the Haryana Assembly election only this morning. An hour later, he was seen at the Congress rally with Mr. Gandhi as the announcer spoke about his “ghar wapasi (homecoming)”. The tweets have now been deleted.
Tanwar’s return to Congress happened on the last day of campaigning ahead of the Haryana Assembly election. The 90- Assembly segments in the state will vote on Saturday and counting will take place on Tuesday. While the Congress is pushing hard for a return to power, the BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term.