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Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Sinh, an Amethi royal and a close associate of the Gandhi family, resigned from the Congress on Tuesday and said he would join the Bharatiya Janata Party, asserting that he will support Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the nation is behind him.
Sinh, a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam, also resigned from the Upper House of Parliament and took a dig at the party, saying it is still living in the past and unaware of the future.
He told reporters that he would join the BJP on Wednesday.
He was in the saffron party earlier as well and had been elected to the Lok Sabha on its ticket.
"The Congress is still in the past, unaware of the future. Today, the country is with PM Modi and if the country is with him, I am with him. I will join the BJP tomorrow. I have resigned from the party, as well as my membership of Rajya Sabha. The Congress is unapproachable and unreachable. I have taken this decision after watching this for a long time," he said.
"The Congress is rudderless, directionless and there is a distance from the people... I am supporting Modi because of 'sabka sath sabka vikas'," he added.
Sinh wields considerable influence in the Amethi of Uttar Pradesh and the BJP hopes that his presence will help it consolidate itself in the region, which also includes Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha seat of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
He had unsuccessfully contested the recent Lok Sabha election from Sultanpur against BJP's Maneka Gandhi.
Sinh's wife Ameeta Sinh, who is the chairperson of the All India Professional Congress in UP, has also quit the Congress.
"Dialogue and communication are the basis of any political party. There is just no scope for any dialogue in the Congress. Then there is zero leadership. There is no clarity, nothing can be decided. Over months there is a buzz over whether the Congress president will be a young man or an old man... all these things affected my decision," he said.
The BJP may field him for the Rajya Sabha poll in the coming weeks.
His term was set to end in April, 2020. Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh announced in the House that his resignation has been accepted.
The BJP has recently won over a number of Rajya Sabha members from other parties in its bid to bolster its strength in the House where the ruling NDA led by it does not have a majority.