A day after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), veteran tribal leader Nand Kumar Sai on Monday joined the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh where the assembly polls are due later this year.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and party president Mohan Markam were present in the Congress headquarters in Raipur when the primary membership of the party was handed over to Sai.
Baghel welcomed Sai to the party and said it is for the benefit of the tribals of Chhattisgarh.
Sai (77), a former two-time Lok Sabha MP and three-time MLA, served as the BJP’s state president in both Chhattisgarh and undivided Madhya Pradesh in the past and is an influential figure in tribal-dominated parts of Surguja division (northern Chhattisgarh).
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On Sunday, Sai had submitted his resignation to state BJP president Arun Sao.
Sai, a prominent tribal face of the party who hails from north Chhattisgarh, was first elected as the Janata Party MLA in 1977 from Tapkara seat (now in Jashpur district) in Madhya Pradesh.
{{/usCountry}}Sai, a prominent tribal face of the party who hails from north Chhattisgarh, was first elected as the Janata Party MLA in 1977 from Tapkara seat (now in Jashpur district) in Madhya Pradesh.
{{/usCountry}}A Congress leader on condition of anonymity claimed Sai leaving the BJP will impact the saffron party adversely.
“Sai, despite being a big name, had lost command over Kanwar ST community’s votes in North Chhattisgarh a long time ago. Infact, the Lok Sabha MP Gomti Sai is currently the biggest community leader of Kanwars in that region currently. However, his leaving the saffron party will surely impact BJP adversely in the state,” the leader said.
In 1980, Sai was elected as the BJP’s Raigarh district unit chief. He was elected as the BJP MLA from Tapkara in 1985 and 1998.
Sai was Chhattisgarh BJP president from 2003-05, and MP BJP chief from 1997 to 2000.
He was the first leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh assembly after the state was carved out from MP in November 2000.
Sai was appointed as the chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in 2017.
Meanwhile, chief spokesperson of BJP in Chhattisgarh, Ajay Chandrakar claimed that Sai has no political base in Chhattisgarh.
“We welcome his decision to join Congress and now we want to see what he can do with Congress as he has no political base in any party of Chhattisgarh. His son lost zila panchayat elections twice in that region,” said Chandrakar.