Chhattisgarh Assembly elections: Blow to Congress as its MLA Ram Dayal Uike joins BJP

Raipur, Oct 13: In a major blow to the Congress, party Chhattisgarh Working President and former MLA from Pali-Tanakhar Ramdayal Uike joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday.

He was welcomed into the BJP in the presence of party President Amit Shah and Chief Minister Raman Singh and other leaders in Bilaspur. Shah is on a two-day visit to the state ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections on November 12.

He said: "Tribal leaders are neglected and not favoured in the Congress. There is a difference in what they say and what they do."

The four-time MLA was a BJP leader in 2000 but joined Congress, along with 17 others, after being persuaded by Ajit Jogi.

Known for passing controversial remarks, Uike had addressed a gathering in April, where he reportedly said Congress would throw BJP out of power from Chhattisgarh and would resort to "sticks and bullets" if needed.