Amarinder Singh merges his party with BJP

Former CM likely to receive a constitutional post or a Rajya Sabha membership

Former Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday joined the BJP in New Delhi and also announced the merger of his party, the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with the same.

At a function at the BJP’s national headquarters in New Delhi, Mr. Singh was welcomed into the BJP along with his supporters by Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju.

Along with Capt. Amarinder, his son Raninder Singh and daughter Jai Inder Kaur also joined the BJP. The PLC had been launched by Mr. Singh last year after he quit the Congress following his unceremonious exit as Chief Minister. However, his party failed to win any seat in the State Assembly polls. He himself lost from his home turf of Patiala Urban.

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Along with Capt. Amarinder, former Deputy Speaker of Punjab Assembly Ajaib Singh Bhatti, former MP Amrik Singh Aliwal, former legislators Harchand Kaur, Harinder Singh Thekedar, Prem Mittal and labour leader Kewal Singh also joined the BJP with scores of his supporters.

Speaking to the media at his party’s merger with the BJP, Mr. Singh said that prior to his spine surgery abroad, he held discussions with his colleagues in PLC, who told him that the party needed to merge with the BJP “if we want to see a future in Punjab”.

Sources said that Mr. Singh could be offered a constitutional post or a Rajya Sabha membership, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) now in power in Punjab has 10 MPs. The BJP is also looking to bolster its appeal across communities in Punjab after the alienation engendered by the farmers’ stir and the loss of its old ally in Punjab — the Shiromani Akali Dal.