Chandigarh, Sep 12 (IANS): Ahead of Assembly elections, Haryana Congress got a shot in the arm on Thursday as AAP state Joint Secretary and vocal leader Loveleen Tuteja and his supporters joined the party in the presence of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Tuteja was an aspirant from Rohtak, but AAP fielded Bijendra Hooda. Rohtak is dominated by Punjabis and Tuteja too belongs to that community. His entry into political circles is being seen as a boost to the party’s winning prospects.
Tuteja has been staging protests against the government. He was placed under house arrest on several occasions to prevent him from holding protests during the Chief Minister’s visits to Rohtak.
Tuteja told the media that he was in politics to flag issues like shortage of drinking water, sewer overflow and inaccuracies in the government’s e-initiatives like property IDs and Parivar Pehchan Patra, causing inconvenience to people.
“Since the Congress has also been raising the same issues, I have joined the party, keeping in view public interest. The Congress has given the guarantee to redress all public grievances upon coming to power, so I will work to ensure the victory of MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak,” he said.
He said that Bhupinder Hooda had worked to ensure the overall development of all regions when he led the Congress government. “Since public issues are on Hooda’s priority list, it is my duty to support him in public interest,” he added.
State party chief whip and sitting legislator Batra from Rohtak filed his nomination papers in the presence of Leader of Opposition Hooda on Wednesday.
Hooda, a five-time MLA from the Garhi-Sampla Kiloi Assembly constituency, too, filed his nomination papers in Sampla town in Rohtak district.
Addressing the gathering in Rohtak city, Hooda said that he had worked to ensure the overall development of Rohtak when the people gave him the opportunity to lead the Congress government in the state from 2005 to 2014.
Haryana will go to polls for the 90-member Assembly on October 5.