Abhishek Manu Singhvi was a Congress candidate from Bengal supported by Trinamool Congress
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, one of the party's most prominent speakers, tackled rumours about his crossover to the BJP on Thursday with poetry. The Congress officially put out a denial, saying it "rejected" the reports with the contempt they deserve.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a lawyer and a Rajya Sabha member, posted lines that roughly translate to: "The smoke of rumours about me rise from the same place where even my name starts a fire."
In another tweet, he said more directly: "For all of you who gossip about me: Thanks for making me the centre of your world."
In recent weeks, speculation has been swirling about a top lawyer in the Congress party -- and one of its national spokespersons -- in talks with the BJP to "jump ship", along with a few younger leaders. The leader was said to be in touch with Home Minister Amit Shah.
"These sources of information are aimed at spreading canards intended to tarnish reputations. We reject them with the contempt they deserve," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala responded to one tweet.
Sources in the opposition party said Dr Singhvi has four years left in his Rajya Sabha term, so a spot in the upper house would hardly be the incentive. Mr Singhvi was a Congress candidate from Bengal supported by the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee.
The denials have not entirely suppressed the buzz after a high profile departure from the Congress in March. Jyotiraditya Scindia, one of Rahul Gandhi's closest aides, made a stunning exit from his party of 19 years after firmly denying any such move much of last year. His defection to the BJP led to the Congress government crashing in Madhya Pradesh, as MLAs close to Mr Scindia also quit the party.
Mr Singhvi's recent posts appearing to take a different line, like the one disagreeing with the hashtag #BanRSS, have fed the speculation.
This view contrasts sharply with that of his party leader Rahul Gandhi, who has always been a fierce critic of the RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the BJP.
One section suggests the BJP has been sorely missing a legal eagle to bolster the party's views. One of the party's top legal experts, former Union Minister Arun Jaitley, died last year.