Aditi Singh is an MLA from UP's Raebareli district (File)
Highlights
- Aditi Singh attended assembly session despite a joint opposition boycott
- She is known to be close to Priyanka Gandhi
- Sources say that she is planning to cross over to the BJP soon
A Congress MLA in Uttar Pradesh, Aditi Singh, attended a special assembly session on Wednesday to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi despite a joint opposition boycott and skipped a protest of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Lucknow.
Aditi Singh is an MLA from Raebareli district, which is Congress president Sonia Gandhi's Lok Sabha seat. Aditi's father Akhilesh Singh was close to the Gandhi family and she is known to be close to Priyanka Gandhi, but despite the Congress General Secretary's presence in Lucknow for a march, Ms Singh did not participate in it.
Sources say this may be an indication that Aditi Singh is set to cross over to the BJP soon, though she denies it on record.
"I did this because out of the 17 sustainable development goals, UP qualifies for 16. I had the opportunity to speak on those issues. If we want to pay true tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, we will have to follow his path and it can only happen if the country develops," Ms Singh said, justifying her presence in the assembly.
The Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat has five assembly segments of which two are currently with the Congress, two with the BJP and one with the Samajwadi Party.
The BJP candidate who fought the Lok Sabha polls against Sonia Gandhi is Dinesh Singh, the brother of the Congress MLA from the Harchandpur seat in Raebareli.
Dinesh Singh joined the BJP just before the Lok Sabha polls and though his brother remains with the Congress officially, many say it's just a token presence.
If Aditi Singh does switch over, it will be a big jolt to the Congress.
Rae Bareli is the Congress's only Lok Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh.
Sonia Gandhi's victory margin in Rae Bareli dropped in the national election and her son and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi lost the election from the neighbouring Amethi seat to the BJP's Smriti Irani.