Haryana assembly election: Former Lok Sabha MP Ashok Tanwar, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in January and unsuccessfully contested the general election on lotus symbol, has made a dramatic ‘ghar wapsi’ (homecoming) and rejoined the Congress.

At around 1.45 pm on Thursday, Tanwar was campaigning for BJP’s candidate ahead of the Haryana Assembly election, scheduled to take place on October 5. Just an hour later, he made a surprise appearance at a Congress rally and rejoined the party in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi was addressing a rally in Mahendragarh district and as he concluded his address, the crowd was asked to wait for a special announcement. Moments later, Tanwar, made a surprise appearance on stage.

Interestingly, Tanwar was also tweeting in support of BJP candidates contesting the election. An hour later, he was seen at the Congress rally with Gandhi as the announcer spoke about his “ghar wapsi (homecoming)”. The tweets have now been deleted.

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A former Congress MP from Sirsa, Tanwar served as Haryana Congress chief from 2014 to 2019, when he left the party. In 2021, he joined the Trinamool Congress and switched to AAP the next year. Tanwar left AAP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, opposing AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to ally with Congress. Following his exit from AAP, he joined the BJP and contested the general election from Sira but lost to Congress’s Kumari Selja. And now he is back in Congress.

Welcoming him back, the Congress posted on X, “The Congress has always raised its voice for the oppressed and deprived sections of the society. Influenced by our struggle and dedication, senior BJP leader, former MP, member of BJP’s campaign committee and star campaigner Ashok Tanwar joined the Congress.”

The former MP’s return to Congress happened on the last day of campaigning ahead of the Haryana Assembly election.

The 90 Assembly segments in the state will vote on Saturday in a single phase. Votes will be counted on Tuesday, October 8. While the Congress is pushing hard for a return to power, the BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term.