Haryana: Congress women's unit chief joins BJP

In a major setback for the Congress in Haryana ahead of the state polls, the party's women's wing chief Sumitra Chouhan resigned and joined the BJP here on Saturday. Chouhan, the president of Haryana Pradesh Mahila Congress, was welcomed into the party fold by state BJP chief Subash Barala.

She said she resigned from the Congress as she was "totally disheartened and utterly devastated" by the party's stand on 'triple talaq' and abrogation of provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. "The stand of the Congress on these issues has totally gone against the sentiments of the people," she said.

She said she is happy with the way Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is running the government in the state. Chouhan has also resigned from the primary membership of the Congress.

Barala said Chouhan has been inducted into the BJP unconditionally. In a bid to end factionalism in the party's state unit, the Congress on Wednesday named Kumari Selja as its Haryana chief and appointed former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda chairperson of the election management committee.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed Hooda the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, and by virtue of that leader of opposition in the state assembly. Haryana is slated to go for assembly polls in October.