New Delhi: In yet another embarrassment for the Congress, the party's Gautam Buddh Nagar candidate Ramesh Chand Tomar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party during an election rally in Ghaziabad.
Tomar, who represented the Hapur-Ghaziabad Lok Sabha seat four times, joined the BJP at its Bharat Vijay Rally in Ghaziabad's Indirapuram and justified his decision of quitting Congress just days before the April 10 voting by calling it his homecoming.
"The country is eager for change. Narendra Modi is a strong and able leader. He will provide good governance and development. I have returned to my family and will ensure the victory of its Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar candidates," he said after joining the BJP on Thursday.
He had won all the four Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate but left the party in 2009 after he was denied the ticket and had joined the Congress. But he lost the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Gautam Buddh Nagar to Samajwadi Party candidate Surendra Singh Nagar.
He was welcomed into the party by BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi, Gautam Buddh Nagar candidate Dr Mahesh Sharma and Ghaziabad candidate General (retd) VK Singh.
Rumours of Tomar joining the BJP had been doing the rounds since Wednesday but he had been denying the reports. He even addressed a press conference in Noida on Wednesday evening and claimed that he was with the Congress and added that his rivals were floating such reports as he was going to win the Gautam Buddh Nagar seat.
With Tomar joining the BJP, the party is expected to get a large chunk of Rajput votes both in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad which have about 4 lakh and 3 lakh electorate from the community.
Now the Congress cannot even name another candidate from Gautam Buddh Nagar as the last date of nomination is over and polling is on April 10.
Earlier in March retired IAS officer Bhagirath Prasad had left the Congress even after getting the ticket to contest from Bhind and joined the BJP. Just like Tomar Prasad had unsuccessfully contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate.
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