Punjab: Former cricketer Mongia, two Congress MLAs join BJP

BJP, Punjab Lok Congress and Akali Dal Dhindsa group form coordination committee for seat sharing.

Ahead of the Punjab Assembly election, former Indian cricketer Dinesh Mongia and sitting Congress MLAs Fateh Singh Bajwa and Balwinder Singh Laddi joined the BJP in New Delhi on Tuesday. The joining took place in the presence of BJP Punjab election in-charge Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and BJP general secretary Dushyant Gautam.

This has come a day after Punjab Lok Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh and Akali Dal Dhindsa group leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had met home minister Amit Shah in Delhi to finalise the alliance between the three parties.


Bajwa is the brother of senior Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa and is considered close to Captain Amarinder Singh. Sources tell ET that Pratap Singh Bajwa himself is planning to contest from the Qadian seat and that is one of the reasons Fateh Bajwa decided to quit the party.

Besides Bajwa, Balwinder Laddi, sitting MLA from Sri Hargobindpur also joined the BJP. Laddi is close to Bajwa.

Before these two sitting Congress MLA Rana Sodhi had joined the BJP last week.

Several other leaders too joined the BJP along with these leaders. All the leaders went to Shekhawat's residence post the joining.

"Yesterday after the meeting of three party leaders, it was decided that a coordination committee will prepare a draft about problems in Punjab and also take forward the alliance," Shekhawat told media persons. "A six-member committee has been formed now with two members each from the BJP, Punjab Lok Congress and SAD (Sanyukt)."

The committee will have Subhash Sharma and Dayal Singh Sodhi from the BJP, Ranindar Singh Tikka and General Shergil from Punjab Lok Congress and Justice Nirmal Singh and Parvinder Dhindsa from SAD (Sanyukt).

The committee will decide on the seat sharing, candidates and the party campaigns jointly in coming days.