New Delhi: In a boost to Congress in Uttar Pradesh, especially in Amethi, former Union Minister Sanjay Singh, a loyalist turned opponent of the Gandhi family, returned to the party on August 20 after a gap of 15 years.

Singh, who visited the Virbhoomi samadhi of the late Rajiv Gandhi to pay floral tributes on his birth anniversary, met the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and expressed a desire to re-join the party, All India Congress Committee (AICC) media secretary Tom Vadakkan said.

A close associate of Rajiv Gandhi, Singh parted ways with Congress and joined V P Singh-led Janata Dal to unsuccessfully contest against Rajiv Gandhi from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in the 1989 elections.

He later left Janata Dal to join the short-lived Chandra Shekhar government as Minister of State for Communication in 1990.

Further down the road, Singh joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and successfully contested as its nominee from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency against Congress candidate Satish Sharma in 1998.

But he lost as BJP nominee against the Congress chief in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls from Amethi constituency. Gandhi won with the highest ever margin from the constituency against Singh.

PTI