Anti-Hooda leader Birender Singh meets Shah amid speculation of joining BJP

New Delhi, July 30: On a day when Haryana Power Minister Ajay Yadav quit the Hooda government, senior party leader from the state Birender Singh on July 29 held a closed-door meeting with BJP President Amit Shah here, amid speculation that he may join the ruling party ahead of Assembly elections.

The meeting was brief and was held at a local hotel after Shah chaired a meeting of state party leaders at Gujarat Bhawan. Birender Singh is keen to join the BJP after he openly revolted against Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and refused to contest the upcoming state Assembly elections under his leadership.

The Congress has already said that the forthcoming Assembly elections will be contested under Hooda's leadership. Singh, who has been Hooda's bete noire is against projection of Hooda and is now looking at various options for himself after his public outburst against the chief minister.

BJP, which is in alliance with Haryana Janhit Congress headed by former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi, is keen to contest the upcoming Assembly polls alone but has not taken any final decision yet.

The relations between BJP and HJC are under strain over Bishnoi's insistence on projecting him as chief ministerial candidate of the proposed alliance, which BJP disfavours. Bishnoi has also announced some of his candidates without consulting the alliance partner.

PTI