New Delhi: Former chief minister and Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Amarinder Singh joined the BJP here Monday in the presence of senior BJP leaders Narinder Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju. Amarinder Singh also merged his newly formed Punjab Lok Congress with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Amarinder (80) had floated the PLC last year after quitting the Congress following his unceremonious exit as chief minister. However, his party failed to win any seat in the Punjab Assembly polls. Amarinder himself lost from his home turf of Patiala Urban.
The PLC contested the elections in alliance with the BJP and the Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt). It was expected then only that Amarinder will join the BJP. He had met Home Minister Amit Shah a number of times also.
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Along with Amarinder, former Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Ajaib Singh Bhatti also joined the BJP.
Amarinder, the two-time former chief minister, is the scion of the erstwhile Patiala royal family. Before his joining, Amarinder met BJP president JP Nadda.
Rijiju heaped lavish praise on Amarinder minutes after the latter had joined the BJP. “We both being associated with different political parties has never affected the work. I was MoS, Home Affairs and he was the CM of Punjab. Above everything else was his astute position on keeping interest of the people of the state and this country,” Rijiju said on Twitter.