Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh joins BJP
Nearly a year after he quit the Congress after being abruptly removed from the post of Chief Minister ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today joined the BJP. Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju welcomed him to the BJP. Earlier in the day, he had met BJP President JP Nadda.
80-year-old Amarinder Singh also merged his Punjab Lok Congress with the BJP. He formed the party last year soon after exiting his party of five decades, the Congress. Along with Amarinder Singh, seven former MLAs and a former MP also joined the BJP.
The PLC contested the assembly elections in alliance with the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (United) led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. However, none of its candidates could win and Singh himself was also defeated from his stronghold Patiala City seat.
PLC spokesperson Preetpal Singh Balliawal had earlier told that Singh would join the party on Monday in the presence of senior BJP leaders in Delhi. Amarinder Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah after he recently returned from London after a spinal surgery.
Singh had said after his meeting with Shah on September 12 that they had very fruitful discussions on various issues related to national security, rising cases of drug-terrorism in Punjab and the future roadmap for the all-round development of the state. Singh, a two-time chief minister, is a descendant of the erstwhile Patiala royal family.
