Ahead 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, former Congress MP Jagmeet Singh Brar on Sunday merged his ‘Punjab lok Hit Abhiyan’ in the Trinamool Congress (TMC), headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Benerjee.
“The decision to merge Punjab lok Hit Abhiyan with the TMC was taken in a meeting of district coordinators and core committee members at Chandigarh,” said Brar, who was recently appointed the TMC's Punjab unit chief.
Brar claimed that he had been approached by many dissidents of the Congress and the like-minded Akalis.
Earlier, the Punjab lok Hit Abhiyan had allied with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
He said that the TMC will raise the issue of drugs, farmer suicides, atrocities on Dalits and women and unemployment for the polls.
“There are speculations about the status of alliance with AAP and I have read many statements of AAP leaders on the matter, but the final call will be taken by Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal because this alliance will form the basis of a partnership in 2019 also,” he said.
He also clarified about the rumour on the number of seats TMC was seeking saying, “A section of the media has misinterpreted my comments at an event in Patiala and thrown up a number. I want to clarify that the number of seats we may contest will be decided by Mamataji and Arvind Kejriwal and all numbers and speculations are merely rumours at this stage.”
A senior TMC leader of the Punjab unit, who did not wish to be named, indicated that if the alliance does not materialize, the TMC may contest elections on its own but the final decision will be taken after the Punjab unit submits a report to Mamata Banerjee in the coming days.