Former Union Minister R.C.P. Singh, who had also been the national president of the Janata Dal (United), joined the BJP at the party’s national headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday. Mr. Singh also accused his one-time mentor, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, of allowing his ambition get the better of him.
Mr. Singh was welcomed to the party by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who tweeted that Mr. Singh was joining the BJP influenced by the development and welfare policies of the Narendra Modi government, and that his “vast experience will help the BJP in Bihar”.
Once considered the closest of aides to Mr. Kumar, Mr. Singh resigned from the Union Council of Ministers and the JD(U) last year after he was denied a re-nomination to the Rajya Sabha by the party, making his continuance in the Ministry untenable and exposing the differences between Mr. Singh and Mr. Kumar. Mr. Singh was seen by the JD(U) to be veering closer to the BJP which is said to have soured the relationship between Mr. Singh and Mr. Kumar.
