Suspended SP MP Raj Babbar to join Congress on Oct 5

Lucknow, Sep 29: Bollywood star and suspended Samajwadi Party MP Raj Babbar would formally join the Congress in Lucknow on Oct five.

Mr Babbar, who had snapped ties with former Prime Minister V P Singh-led Janmorcha after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, has invited Congress General Secretary and in-charge of UP Digvijay Singh and UP president Rita Bahuguna Joshi at a public rally in the Taj city on Sunday, Sep 28. The MP's representative Upendra Singh has also confirmed about the rally on October five with the presence of senior Congress leaders. Hectic preparations are underway in Agra where the public rally is to be held at Targhar(telegraph) maidan.

More than 50,000 supporters of Mr Babbar would participate in the rally to acknowledge his decision to join the Congress.

'' Thousands of Janmorcha activists would also join the Congress on the occasion'', Mr Singh claimed.

Mr Babbar would be shifting to the adjoining new Lok Sabha seat of Fatehpur Sikri after the present Agra seat, from where he is the member, had been reserved for SC/ST in the new delimitation.

Sources said it was certain that the Fatehpur Sikri seat would be given to Congress under the electoral alliance between the Congress and Samajwadi Party even though SP general secretary Amar Singh had expressed his reservation against leaving the seat for Mr Babbar.

The new Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seat has two assembly segments of Agra district-- Dayalbagh and Fatehpur Sikri-- and three assembly segments of Ferozabad district-- Bah, Fatehabad and Khairagarh.

UNI