In a major setback for the Congress in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, working president and Pali-Tanakhar MLA, Ram Dayal Uike on Saturday, 13 October, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in presence of Amit Shah and chief Minister Dr Raman Singh.
Uike met Shah and Singh in Bilaspur and was officially inducted into the party. He is a four-time lawmaker from Pali in Chhattisgarh, according to NDTV.
The news comes as another setback to the Congress in the state after state party chief was caught in a sex CD controversy and was sent to jail. Mr Bhaghel is now out on bail.
With assembly polls in the state less than a month away, the Congress is struggling to stitch an alliance with regional parties in the state.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati, too, announced that her party will not ally with the Congress and joined hands with Ajit Jogi.
The BJP has been in power in Chhattisgarh for 15 years under the leadership of Chief Minister Raman Singh.
In the 2013 Assembly polls, the saffron party had won 49 seats in the state, the Congress 39, the BSP one and an Independent candidate one.
(With inputs from NDTV and PTI)
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