Former Delhi Minister and four terms MlA from Hari Nagar seat, Sikh leader Harsharan Singh Balli on Wednesday joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Congress Jai Prakash Aggarwal.
Balli is going to be fielded by the Congress from Hari Nagar constituency. The Congress has given ample indication to Balli that the party was open to him and had even taken back its candidate — Surender Kumar Setia — from the seat. It was a planned gesture from the Congress to Balli — who holds sway in this area.
Soft-spoken Balli was denied BJP nomination as the seat went to Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) following a compromise formula.
The Akalis have decided to field BJP councillor Shyam Sharma from the seat. Balli is the only sitting BJP MlA who had not been re-nominated by the party. He had met Dikshit on Tuesday as well.
After joining the Congress, Balli lambasted SAD president Parkash Singh Badal for creating circumstances for him to leave the party. Balli also reiterated that he was an old Congressman and his role will not be limited to the Hari Nagar seat, but he will campaign all over Delhi.
Hailing Sheila Dikshit's gesture, Balli said that when he was ill, Dikshit had come to his house and promised all sorts of help for treatment and medical reimbursement.
Criticising the BJP, Balli stated that the party does not care about his sentiments despite the fact that he had served the party as the lone Sikh MlA for the last 36 years in Delhi.