Leaders joining from other parties will benefit us in Punjab polls: BJP
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Dec, 2021 12:20 PM
New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) The BJP, which is likely to contest the Punjab assembly polls on its own for the first time after its ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) walked away, will be banking on leaders from the opposition parties and prominent personalities to make its electoral presence felt in the state. In the last assembly polls in 2017, the BJP had won only three out of the 23 seats it contested.
In next year's assembly polls the saffron party is trying to increase its strength in the Punjab assembly by inducting leaders from other political parties and prominent personalities in the state. The saffron party believes that these leaders will help them in winning the assembly polls. "Joining of senior leaders from other parties will definitely benefit the party in the election. Many of them are joining without preconditions or assurance of a ticket. Their ticket will be decided on their winnability. But, there is no doubt that the BJP is emerging stronger with each passing day," a senior party leader said.
A party insider pointed out that while prominent personalities help in building a positive perception in favour of the party in the run up to the election, strong or big leaders help in strengthening the organisation at the ground level.
A senior BJP leader said that the process of people joining us is on and more people will join in the future from different walks of life including leaders from other parties. "Joining of senior leaders from rival political parties or prominent personalities shows that the BJP is gaining ground in Punjab and getting stronger day by day. After SAD broke its alliance with us, it was believed that the BJP has no presence in the state but the way more and more people are joining the party shows our strong presence," he said.
On Friday, former Punjab DGP Sarbdeep Singh Virk, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sarabjit Singh Makkar, former chairman of Punjab cooperative bank Avtar Singh Zira, industrialist Harcharan Singh Ranauta and other personalities from Punjab joined the saffron party.
On December 1, SAD leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had joined the BJP. On August 2, five SAD leaders including former national general secretary of Akali Dal's women wing, Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia, and SAD leaders Gurpreet Singh Shahpur, Chand Singh Chatha, Baljinder Singh Dakoha and Pritam Singh had joined the BJP. In June, six prominent personalities Harinder Singh Kahlon, Jagmohan Singh Saini, Nirmal Singh, Kuldeep Singh Kahlon, Jaswinder Singh Dhillon and Jaibans Singh had joined the saffron party.
To deal with the ongoing Covid pandemic, India's civil aviation regulator on Friday extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till November 30.
Modi reached Rome on Friday morning where he will join other G20 leaders in discussions on global economic and health recovery from the pandemic, sustainable development, and climate change in the first in-person summit of the G20 since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.
Three females farmers from Punjab died on Thursday after a speeding truck rammed into them near the protest site at Tikri border, police said. Two other women farmers were also injured in the accident which took place at around 6 a.m.
Ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court on Thursday said the firecracker ban order needs to be strictly followed. A bench headed by Justice M.R. Shah emphasized that it is not against any particular festival, but it is also essential to protect the right to life. The bench also comprising Justice A. S. Bopanna said: "We do not want to come in the way of enjoyment, but for enjoyment one cannot play with the fundamental right of others."
Lakhbir's family -- wife, daughter, brother and father -- went to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence but as he was unavailable, they met the staff of the Home Minister and put forth their demands.
Organised by EcoSikh and Clean Air Punjab, a citizen's collective working on the issue of air pollution, over 50 prominent citizens across the state attended the meeting.
