I quit Congress because 'leadership is zero in party': Sanjay Sinh

Congress MP Sanjay Sinh, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha as well as the party on Tuesday, said he quit because “leadership is zero in the party”. Sinh, an Amethi royal and a close associate of the Gandhi family, will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday. "The Congress is still in the past, unaware of the future. Today, country is with PM Modi and if the country is with him, I am with him. I will join the BJP tomorrow. I have resigned from the party, as well as my membership of Rajya Sabha,” said Sinh.

He added: "I am supporting Modi because of the ‘sabka sath sabka vikas’."

His wife Ameeta Sinh has also quit the Congress. She was chairperson of the All India Professional Congress in UP.

"I have been with the Congress since 1984. My decision of leaving won't impact Congress in anyway. Whatever has happened in the Congress in 15 years hasn't happened before. I took the decision after thinking a lot about it." Sinh said.

Sinh, who was in the BJP earlier and was elected to the Lok Sabha on its ticket in 90s, wields considerable influence in the Amethi region of Uttar Pradesh.

He had unsuccessfully contested the recent Lok Sabha election from Sultanpur. BJP's Maneka Gandhi had won from there.

Sinh was a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has accepted his resignation.

"Dialogue and communication are the basis of any political party. There is just no scope for any dialogue in Congress. Then there is zero leadership. There is no clarity, nothing can be decided. Over months there is a buzz over whether the Congress president will be a young man or an old man... all these things affected my decision," he said.

The BJP may field him for the Rajya Sabha poll in the coming weeks. His term was set to end in April, 2020. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced in the House that his resignation has been accepted.

The BJP has recently won over a number of Rajya Sabha members from other parties in its bid to bolster its strength in the House where the ruling NDA led by it does not have a majority.