Cong blow in Chhattisgarh as working prez quits

In a major blow to the Congress in Chhattisgarh, the state party unit working president Ramdayal Uike joined the BJP in the presence of its national president Amit Shah on Saturday.

Uike was a BJP MLA when the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh. He had vacated the Marwarhi seat for the then chief minister Ajit Jogi, so that he can be elected to the Assembly.

This created a political uproar. Uike then joined the Congress and fought the election from Tanakhar Assembly constituency and won it twice.

He remained close to Jogi even after floating a regional outfit - Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J).

The resentment began to brew when Congress started holding talks with Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), which asked for the Tanakhar seat. The party did not reveal any information to Uike on the issue.