New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS): In a major setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ashok Tanwar, a political heavyweight in Haryana politics switched loyalties and rejoined the Congress on Thursday.

Tanwar rejoined the grand old party in the presence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda during a public rally in Mahendergarh district.

Tanwar's switchover from BJP to Congress comes just two days ahead of the state going to polls.

Even political analysts are baffled by Tanwar's sudden crossover. Some reports said that he was seen campaigning for BJP hours ago and he came to join the Congress during Rahul's mega rally in the poll-bound state.

The Congress has welcomed him into the party fold, saying that his return to the party will strengthen the fight for the rights of Dalits in the state.

"Impressed by our struggle and dedication, a senior BJP leader and also a member of its campaign committee in Haryana joined us. Welcome back to the Congress family, best wishes for the future," said the INC on its X handle.

It said that the Congress party has always raised the voice of the oppressed and the deprived and will continue to do so in protecting the Constitution.

Addressing a mega poll rally for the upcoming October 5 elections, Rahul said that there was a battle of ideology in the country.

"On one side is Congress, which wants to run the country as per the Constitution. Whereas... On the other side are BJP-RSS, who want to abolish the Constitution,” he said.

The Congress MP, in his poll rally, also raked up alleged mistreatment of women wrestlers during their demonstration on Delhi streets and urged the people to teach the BJP a lesson for its "misdeeds".

"You all saw what BJP did to the wrestlers of the country. BJP members are committing crimes against women without any fear, but BJP does not care. This is an attack on the Constitution because the Constitution says that every woman in the country should be protected," he told the public gathering.