Kuldeep Bishnoi's Haryana Janhit Party merges with Congress to 'uproot BJP'

Pic Courtesy: ANI

Chandigarh: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi's Haryana Janhit Congress formally merged with the Congress on Thursday with an aim to "uproot" BJP from the state.

The merger was confirmed by new agency ANI.

#Flash Haryana Janhit Party merges with Indian National Congress. pic.twitter.com/FBY8EF81Mp — ANI (@ANI_news) April 28, 2016

Kuldeep Bishnoi had on Monday met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to discuss all modalities in this regard, triggering speculations regarding the merger.

The merger is expected to give a boost to the Congress among non-Jats.

AICC general secretary in-charge for the state Shakeel Ahmed had earlier said that the merger will not only benefit OBCs but consolidate Congress party's base among all sections in the state.

Insisting that the plan to merge his party with the Congress is "completely non-conditional", Bishnoi, who had earlier allied with the BJP, too exuded confidence that the coming together of HJC and Congress will mark the beginning of BJP's fall.

HJC was floated by Bishnoi's father and former CM Bhajan Lal in 2007 after he broke away from the Congress.

Bhajan Lal was a tall leader in Congress and was quite popular among non-Jats. He was the Chief Minister of the state from 1979 to 1986 and then again from 1991 to 1996.

In 2005, Congress preferred Jat leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, sidelining Lal.

After Lal's death on June 3, 2011, Bishnoi took over the reins of the party and his party later forged an alliance with the BJP for the 2014 parliamentary elections.

In the last assembly polls, the party fought separately from the BJP and was reduced to just two seats--Kuldeep Bishnoi won from his his father's traditional Adampur seat of Hisar while his wife, Renuka Bishnoi won from Hansi. Both of them met Rahul today.