2 senior leaders quit Lalu's party, enter Congress

The Congress party in Bihar on Friday received a boost with party president Sonia Gandhi approving the proposal of senior RJD leader and sitting MLA Anil Kumar and former BJP MP Sukhdeo Paswan to join it.

"Sonia ji has approved the application of the two senior leaders seeking to join the Congress," state Congress Chief Spokesperson Premchandra Mishra said.

He said the two leaders, who were away from the state capital, were expected to formally join the Congress in a day or two.

While Anil Kumar was Rajya Sabha member from RJD for 12 years prior to his election to the state assembly from Bhore (Reserved) seat in Gopalganj which he represented thrice.

Sukhdeo Paswan was BJP Lok Sabha member from Araria for four times in a row. The party had in 1999 denied him a ticket from the seat.

Mishra said state Congress Chief Choudhary Mehboob Ali Kaiser had forwarded their applications showing inclination to join the party to Sonia Gandhi recently. "Sonia ji approved it on Friday," he claimed.