Chandigarh, Aug 21 (PTI) In a setback to the JJP ahead of the October 1 Assembly polls, the party's rebel MLA Ramkaran Kala on Wednesday switched to the Congress.

Kala, the MLA from Shahabad constituency, joined the Congress along with his supporters in the presence of former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Congress' State President Udai Bhan and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, a party release said.

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Welcoming him, Bhupinder Hooda said the leader had taken the right decision at the right time as the Congress was set to return to power in Haryana.

"This decision will pay off in the upcoming elections and prove helpful in forming the Congress government. With several leaders from other parties joining the Congress and people supporting our programmes, it is clear that there is a Congress wave in Haryana. The Congress will form the government in the state," Hooda stated.

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Kala said the Congress has emerged as the "voice of the people" in the state and people were waiting for assembly polls to oust the BJP and bring Congress to power.

Earlier in the day, in another jolt to the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) which is led by former MP Ajay Singh Chautala, rebel MLAs Jogi Ram Sihag, Ram Niwas Surjakhera, Ram Kumar Gautam and Anoop Dhanak extended their support to the candidature of BJP leader Kiran Choudhry for the bypoll to a Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana.

State Congress chief Udai Bhan said during the last two years, several leaders from the BJP and the JJP have joined the grand old party.

"The party's family is continuously expanding and the BJP and the JJP have lost political ground. Now the public is eagerly waiting for October 1 so that the Congress government can be formed with a huge majority," Bhan stated.

According to the party statement, along with Kala, several other leaders like Vijay Yadav (vice president of the Aam Aadmi Party, Gurugram) and Nachhatar Singh Nain (district vice president of the JJP) also joined the Congress.

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