Lucknow: Is senior Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi all set to join the BJP? That is the speculation doing the rounds in the Uttar Pradesh political circles where all major political parties are realigning forces ahead of the Assembly polls in 2017.

If true, the move could deal a major blow to the state Congress where the party's general secretary Rahul Gandhi extensively toured and lauched a mass contact programme. However, sources close to Rita Bahuguna denied the speculations. Rita Bahuguna Joshi is a Congress MLA from Lucknow Cant. She had led the party in the last Assembly polls in the state in which Congress came a poor fourth. It may be recalled that the Congress party had projected Delhi's former chief minister Sheila Dikshit as the chief minister candidate.

Defections in Manipur Congress

Imphal: Two former Congress MLAs joined BJP on Monday ahead of the upcoming state elections due in early 2017.

The former Congress MLAs, N Biren and Francis Ngajokpa were warmly received by BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav, BJP's National Democratic Alliance Convenor Himanta Biswa and state party President Bhabananda here. Ngajokpa had tendered his resignation from the house as well as from the primary membership of the party on October 13 and N Biren on October 6 this year.

Though Ngajokpa maintained that he had resigned from Congress due to the pressure of his voters of Tadubi in Senapati district, N Biren alleged that the present incumbent Ibobi Singh government had failed to bring good governance in the state. Earlier in September last, veteran Congress MLA Y Erabot as the first to resign from the party to join BJP.