LSP chief Raj Kumar Saini extends support to Congress for Lok Sabha elections

Raj Kumar Saini, a former MP and chief of the Loktanter Suraksha Party, has pledged unconditional support to Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking at the press conference, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters that Saini has decided to extend unconditional support to the party in the Lok Sabha elections after getting inspired by Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

“Inspired by Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ and after hearing his ideas, Raj Kumar Saini (former MP and Loktanter Suraksha Party chief) has decided to extend unconditional support to the party in the Lok Sabha elections. I thank him for his support,” Kharge said.

Talking to HT, Saini earlier this week said that he met Haryana Congress in-charge Deepak Babaria last week and expressed willingness to join the INDIA bloc and requested Sonepat parliamentary seat. (Also Read: Baroda bypoll: Dalits, backward classes at forefront of LSP chief’s campaign)

“Our party has a strong base in Sonepat and Kurukshetra parliamentary seats. I asked for the Sonepat seat as the Kurukshetra seat was given to the Aam Aadmi Party. If the talks fail, I will file my nomination from Kurukshetra seat as I won from the seat in the 2014 general polls,” he added.

Saini had defeated INLD’s Balbir Singh Saini in 2014 Lok Sabha polls on BJP’s ticket by 1.3 lakh votes. He contested the 2019 assembly polls from Gohana and lost to Congress’s Jagbir Malik.

Rahul Gandhi, who also attended the press conference, outlined the party's next step.

“During the (Bharat Jodo Nyay) Yatra, we talked about social justice. The next revolutionary step includes caste census, economic survey, survey of institutions and to find out the level of participation of India's 90% population in the country's systems and institutions,” he said.

“We have decided to do this revolutionary work, which we have promised in the manifesto,” Gandhi added.