Punjabi Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans on Saturday joined BJP giving a new twist to the campaign of Punjab Assembly polls.
Hans, a party hopper, had hobnobbed with the two main parties of Punjab in the past. He was currently in the Congress and earlier had a stint with the Akali Dal.
The singer from the numerically influential Dalit community in Punjab, said that he was influenced by several "revolutionary decisions" taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the interest of the country and its people.
BJP hopes that joining of the sufi singer will shore up support for the SAD-BJP combine in Punjab where it is locked in a tough fight with Congress and Aam Aadmi Party.
Congratulating his former party colleague, Punjab minister Gulzar Singh Ranike said that Hans has taken a bold step of severing ties with decaying and stinking Congress. He said that Hans has correctly sensed that Congress president Amarinder Singh can not stand "dalits" for long and hence his renouncing the Congress was a step in right direction. After all there is a mismatch between royalty of Maharaja Amarinder Singh and lonely albeit melodious voice of icon sufi singer which even thrill the Almighty. Hans is gifted with quality of picking pearls after diligently segregating these and he has demonstrated this by finally joining the SAD- BJP alliance.
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress dismissed the development as insignificant. It said singer Hans' decision to quit Congress and join BJP ahead of the Punjab assembly polls smacked of opportunism.
In a statement issued here, party leaders Raj Kumar Verma, Gejja Ram Valmiki and Advocate Rajnish Sahota said the singer appeared to have abandoned the Valmiki community and cause in order to climb the Hindutva bandwagon.
“It was evident, they said, that the move was motivated not by any principles but by an opportunistic desire for personal gains,” they said, adding, “What else could explain the decision of Hans to let go of the Congress, which had showered him with so much love and respect, and move to a party known for its anti-people policies and philosophy.”