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Former Haryana Congress MP Ashok Tanwar expected to join TMC
It comes amid growing differences between the two parties that escalated following the TMC’s announcement that it will contest the Goa polls next year and the defection of Congress leaders to West Bengal’s ruling party
Former Congress Member of Parliament Ashok Tanwar is expected to join Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the presence of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi on Tuesday, people aware of the matter said.
This comes amid growing differences between the two parties that escalated following the TMC’s announcement that it will contest the Goa polls due next year and defection of Congress leaders to West Bengal’s ruling party. TMC leaders’ comments against Congress have also increased tensions.
Banerjee is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other key leaders during her ongoing visit to New Delhi. Her close aides have confirmed she has no plans to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
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Tanwar left the Congress in 2019 and has floated Apna Bharat Morcha. He was once a close aide to Rahul Gandhi. But he fell out with the party over his rivalry with Haryana leaders including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Tanwar, a former Youth Congress president who has represented Haryana’s Sirsa in Parliament, remains a prominent face in Haryana. His expected entry into the TMC is part of the party’s plans to expand its base beyond Bengal following its return to power with a landslide victory in the West Bengal assembly polls this summer.
