New Delhi: After Maharashtra MP Vishal Patel, another independent MP Pappu Yadav on Monday pledged support for Congress and I.N.D.I.A bloc after a meeting with party leadership including Mallikarjun Kharge and the Gandhis.
With this, Congress has the support of 101 MPs and I.N.D.I.A bloc 236 MPs in Lok Sabha. Yadav entered the fray from Bihar's Purnia, where he defeated JD(U)'s Santosh Kumar and pushed RJD's Bima Bharti to third position, after the Congress failed to convince ally RJD to leave the seat for him.
Kharge tweeted after the meeting, "today, the newly elected independent MP from Purnia, Bihar, Pappu Yadav met at 10, Rajaji Marg and extended his support to the Congress party. We welcome him.
We expect that every Congress Party worker in Bihar will be vocal in the fight for social justice."
Yadav had on March 20 merged his party Jan Adhikar Party with Congress.
After Yadav entered the fray, RJD had urged Congress top leadership to campaign against him in Purnia but leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Kharge did not travel to Purnia to support the I.N.D.I.A bloc candidate Bharti.
Last week, Patil, a Congress rebel who won as an independent in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections from Maharashtra, announced support for Congress and I.N.D.I.A bloc. Patil, the grandson of former Maharashtra chief minister Vasantdada Patil, won the Lok Sabha election from the Sangli seat. He had contested as an independent candidate after Sangli was allotted to the Shiv Sena (UBT) in the seat-sharing arrangements in Maharashtra.
Patil and Yadav will not be officially joining Congress as they would be disqualified if they do so.
Published 10 June 2024, 16:37 IST
