Congress leader and former Union minister RPN Singh joins BJP
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader RPN Singh on Tuesday joined the BJP in the presence of the saffron party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Singh is the second big exit from the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after Jitin Prasada quit it last year. Prasada joined the BJP and later became a minister in the Adityanath government.
"This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation building under the visionary leadership & guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi, BJP president Shri @JPNadda ji & Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji," Singh, a former Union minister, had tweeted before his joining.
Besides Pradhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress to join the BJP and is a Union minister, was also present for Singh's joining in ceremony.
Singh was also the in-charge for Jharkhand affairs of the Congress, where the party is in power along with the JMM.
He has earlier represented the Padrauna assembly constituency and had defeated Swami Prasad Maurya from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Singh was on Monday included in the Congress list of 30 star campaigners for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. PTI JTR
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Allen, Raghuvanshi, Green power KKR to 29-run win over GT
Kolkata (PTI): Finn Allen blasted a 35-ball 93, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi hit an unbeaten 44-ball 82 as Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff hopes alive with a 29-run win over Gujarat Titans in the IPL match here on Saturday.
Sent in to bat, Allen went on a six-hitting spree, smashing 10 maximums and four boundaries to add 95 off 41 balls with Raghuvanshi (82).
Raghuvanshi then shared another 108 off 53 balls with Cameron Green (52 not out) to power KKR to a challenging 247 for 2.
In reply, GT could manage 218-4, riding on skipper Shubman Gill's 49-ball 85 and a 35-ball 57 from Jos Buttler. Opener Sai Sudarsan was retired hurt but returned to make a 28-ball 53 not out.
Sunil Narine (2/29) claimed two wickets and Saurabh Dubey snapped one for KKR.
For GT, Mohammed Siraj (1/50), Sai Kishore (1/38) were the wicket-takers.
Brief Score:
KKR: 247 for 2 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 93, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 82 not out, Camero Green 52 not out; Mohammed Siraj 1/50).
GT: 218 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 85, Sunil Narine 2/29).
