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.
"Pharmaceutical industry in Goa produces 12 per cent of the total medicine manufactured in India. Around 70 per cent of the product is exported to the most developed countries in the world," Sawant told a government function in Panaji organised to promote industrial trade in the state.
Even the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has directed all state governments and Union Territory administrations to use the word Scheduled Caste instead of Dalit for persons belonging to SCs.
The non-recognition of the Covishield vaccine has impacted the Indians, especially students travelling to the UK. This issue was flagged during the meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar and UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Monday in Washington DC.
She reached Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, by air in the morning from where she headed straight to her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's cottage located amid forests of pine and cedar on the suburbs of the Himachal Pradesh capital.
Channi took oath of office along with his two deputies -- one a Jat Sikh and another belonging to the Hindu community -- at a simple ceremony here in the Punjab capital that was delayed for 20 minutes owing to the late arrival of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Jasbir Singh Virk, president of Bhartiya Sikh Sangthan, has underlined the need to intensify the ongoing farmers' agitation and said that there was a need to shore up strength at the Delhi borders.
