National
JD(S) MP joins Cong.
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JAN. 3. Obaidullah Khan Azmi, a JD(S) Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, and Chottey Lal Gangowar, Samajwadi Party MLA from Nawabganj, today joined the Congress. The two leaders were inducted into the party this morning by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi.
The inductions are expected to give a fillip to the Congress as it braces up for Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh next month. Party sources maintain that more such inductions are likely in the near future, and these include some important leaders from Uttar Pradesh.
Mr. Azmi was introduced to the media by the AICC general secretary incharge of Uttar Pradesh, Ghulamnabi Azad. Also present on the occasion were M.L. Fotedar, Mohsina Kidwai and Pramod Tewari, CLP leader of Uttar Pradesh. Though Mr. Azmi's Rajya Sabha term expires in April, his entry into the Congress is expected to help the party as he has some influence over the minority votes in eastern Uttar Pradesh. He started his political career in the Janata Dal under the leadership of V.P. Singh.
A fiery orator, Mr. Azmi has mellowed down since becoming an MP. A onetime critic of the Congress Mr. Azmi justified his decision to join the Congress. ``In the present circumstances the Congress under Ms. Gandhi is the only party which could hold the nation together and provide a mature leadership to the country,'' said Mr. Azmi.
Talking to newspersons Mr. Azad made it clear that the Congress would contest all the seats in Uttar Pradesh on its own.
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