Kuldeep Bishnoi who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in August this year after being expelled from Congress, on Thursday said his former party is in "self-destruction mode" and has no future.
Bishnoi, who reached the polling booth to cast his vote in the ongoing Adampur Assembly constituency bypoll in Haryana, took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi and said that the former Congress president could commit political suicide, by continuing in Congress, but not he.
Speaking to ANI, Bishnoi said, "Congress is in self-destruction mode. It would remain in the number two spot, but BJP would win the bypoll."
Kuldeep Bishnoi's son Bhawya Bishnoi is in the fray in the bypoll in the Adampur constituency.
"If Rahul Gandhi wants to do political suicide, he can, I cannot do that by being in Congress. Congress has no political future. Rahul Gandhi is conducting the padyatra (Bharat Jodo Yatra) to save his own reputation," Kuldeep Bishnoi said.
Hitting out at the former chief minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the BJP leader said that Hooda talks about Dalits, but he is anti-Dalit.
"Everybody knows what happened with Dalit leaders Kumari Selja and Ashok Tanwar. I wanted to be the Congress chief in Haryana, if I were made so, the results for Congress would be good," he said.
Retorting to Bishnoi's allegations, Congress candidate in the Adampur Assembly constituency bypoll, Jaiprakash JP said that the party made a Dalit the state president.
"Haryana has nearly 22 per cent Dalits. BJP leaders cannot go to their doorsteps to seek votes. Congress has made a Dalit as the Haryana party chief," he said.
AAP has fielded its candidate Satyendra Singh in the bypoll.
Taking on AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Bishnoi said that the party would not be able to make routes as it is "indulged in corruption".
"Kejriwal comes to Haryana and talks about corruption, schools and pollution. Whereas the pollution is at its peak in Delhi. AAP is indulged in corruption, so they would not be able to win here," he said.
Wife of Kuldeep Bishnoi, Renuka Bishnoi said that AAP is not in the race.
"AAP is not in the race. Our political fight is against Congress," she said.
The voting for Assembly by-elections in seven vacant seats spread across the states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh began on Thursday morning.
Polling is being held from 7 am to 6 pm amid tight security and the counting of votes will be conducted on November 6.
Bharatiya Janata Party is in a fierce contest with regional parties such as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the Assembly bypolls in seven constituencies spread across six states.
The seven Assembly constituencies where the elections are taking place are 166-Andheri East from Maharashtra, 47-Adampur from Haryana, 93-Munugode from Telangana, 139-Gola Gokranath from Uttar Pradesh and 46-Dhamnagar from Odisha.
( With inputs from ANI )
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