Days after the three ‘controversial’ farm laws were repealed, Punjab’s former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh will be in the national Capital to meet the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s top leadership on Friday or Saturday — presumably to give a final shape to the proposed alliance.
Sources informed The Pioneer that Capt Amarinder, who is currently working on his new political outfit — Punjab Lok Congress, will be reaching New Delhi on Friday, and is expected to meet BJP national president JP Nadda on Saturday.
During his stay in the national capital, Capt Amarinder may also meet the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Notably, Capt Amarinder, days after stepping down as the Chief Minister and quitting the Congress citing “continuous humiliation” by the party high command, announced to float his own political party while also making clear his intentions of forging an alliance with the BJP for 2022 Punjab polls.
Already, Capt Amarinder had announced that his Punjab Lok Congress would contest all 117 Assembly seats in the State. At the same time, Capt Amarinder has repeatedly made it clear that he was “looking forward” to arrive at a seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP.
And now with the President’s assent to the bills to repealing the three controversial farm laws — the one condition Capt Amarinder had put to join hands with the BJP, the former Chief Minister will now be meeting the BJP top brass, seemingly to give the final shape to the expected alliance.
In fact, Capt Amarinder had, on Monday, met BJP’s Haryana CM ML Khattar, fter which he claimed to form the next Punjab Government in alliance with the BJP and Akali’s breakaway faction, led by Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
At the same time, Dhindsa has made it clear that his party was “open to alliance with any party” except the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Dhindsa, who has maintained that no talks have been held till date with Capt Amarinder, also maintained that all options are open for his party and the final decision taken by this week after the party’s meeting.
“The final decision on the alliance — be it with Capt Amarinder’s party, the BJP, or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — should be out in the next two to three days...I will have a party meeting after which a final decision will be taken,” Dhindsa said.
Notably, the SAD (Samyukt) was formed after the dissolution of the SAD (Taksali), formed by Akali stalwarts and former MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, and the SAD (Democratic), launched earlier by Dhindsa. Both Dhindsa and Brahmpura, known taksali Akalis, were expelled from the SAD for revolting against the party leadership ahead 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Available information suggests that during the meeting, Punjab BJP’s top leadership, including the State election in-charge and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and party’s national general secretary in-charge for Punjab Dushyant Gautam, may also be present.
A discussion is expected to be held on the outlines of the alliance, the possible seat sharing, among other things.
BJP, which has been left alone by its decades-old ally SAD over the issue of farm laws, is struggling to mark its presence in Punjab, the state which spearheaded the farmers’ agitation against its party-led Central Government.
Though the saffron party is devising its strategy and trying to cashing on the pro-Sikh and pro-Punjab initiatives taken by the BJP-led Central Government — like Kartarpur corridor, 1984 riots, among others, it is also looking for a strong Sikh face to lead the party campaign.
Notably, only a day before, BJP inducted senior Akali leader in Delhi — Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa — in the party fold giving a major setback to its former ally.