By IANS,
Chandigarh: In the runup to the assembly elections in Haryana, the opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) suffered another major setback Saturday when its legislator Sushil Kumar Indora resigned from the assembly and joined the ruling Congress.
Indora, deputy leader of the INLD in the assembly and a close confidant of party president and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, sent his resignation to Speaker Raghubir Singh Kadian. The resignation was immediately accepted.
Former minister M.L. Ranga, former MP Bahadur Singh and senior leader Krishan Chand Karsa also quit the INLD and joined the Congress Saturday.
Both leaders were welcomed into the Congress fold by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at a political rally in Meham, 300 km from here.
Indora and Ranga’s resignation came just days after former finance minister Sampat Singh quit the INLD saying the party had been commercialised by Chautala’s family.
Sampat Singh had lost the election for the Hisar Lok Sabha seat to former chief minister and Haryana Janhit Congress leader Bhajan Lal by less than 7,000 votes May this year. He had contested on an INLD ticket.
The ruling Congress won nine out of 10 Lok Sabha in the general elections this year.
The INLD, which ruled Haryana during 1999-2005, was trounced in the February 2005 assembly polls. It returned with only nine seats in the 90-member assembly.
In the May general elections this year, the INLD could manage a lead only in seven assembly seats while its alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led in seven other assembly segments.
Assembly elections in the state are due by February next year.