A year after joining the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the sister of slain gangster Jaswinder Singh Rocky, Rajdeep Kaur, on Tuesday joined the Congress — a development described as “serious blow” to Akali Dal in the party president Sukhbir Badal’s Ferozepur constituency.
Notably, Rocky was shot dead in Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh in 2016. Facing over 20 cases including those of murder, the 39-year-old Rocky had been acquitted in 18 before his death.
He had hobnobbed with all political parties and in 2012 state assembly elections, he contested as an independent candidate from Fazilka, and came second close to BJP’s winning candidate Surjit Jyani by bagging 39,000 votes. He lost by just 1600 votes.
As Rajdeep joined the Congress along with a large number of supporters, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh welcomed her into the Congress fold.
Rajdeep had contested the 2017 assembly polls from Fazilka as an independent candidate, polling over 38,000 votes. Rajdeep’s mother, Harmander Kaur, also joined the Congress.
With more and more leaders and workers from other parties deciding to put their weight behind the Congress, the party was clearly dominating the Lok Sabha poll scene, said the Chief Minister, adding that he was happy to have Rajdeep join the Punjab Congress’ efforts to clean the state of the destructive and divisive Akali forces.
“If such is the extent of disillusionment in Sukhbir’s own constituency, one could gauge which way the wind is blowing across the state,” said Capt Amarinder asserting that the SAD president would be ignominiously voted out by the people of Ferozepur.
Rajdeep thanked the Chief Minister for giving her the opportunity to serve the people of Punjab. She blamed Sukhbir Badal's autocratic and highhanded style of functioning for Akali Dal's downfall.
“There are many who, like her, are feeling disenchanted and suffocated in the SAD and wanted to join the Congress, which stands for democracy and inclusive progress,” she said.