Suspended Congress MP Amarinder Singh’s wife Prineet Kaur joins BJP

Chandigarh:

Weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party continues to strengthen its ranks by inducting Preneet Kaur, wife of former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, into the party. Ms. Kaur, a Congress MLA from Patiala, is likely to contest from the BJP seat this time.

After resigning as chief minister in 2021, Singh formed the Punjab Lok Sabha Congress and merged with the BJP the following year. Ms Kaur was suspended in February last year for aiding the BJP’s “anti-party activities”.

Ms Kaur was joined on Thursday in the presence of state general secretaries Vinod Tawde and Tarun Chugh and the party’s Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar Reaching out to the Bharatiya Janata Party, she praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his contribution to the development of the country.

“I am happy to join the BJP today. I have worked in the Lok Sabha and the Parliament for the past 25 years. It is time that everyone should come together to take the work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies forward,” she said.

Todd said the addition of leaders like Preneet Kaur will make the party stronger in Punjab.

“Prineet Kaur ji is an MP and she has proved her potential by serving in many committees. When these people come to the BJP, especially in Punjab, opinion there is forming against the state government , which makes us strong. The BJP is emerging in people’s minds. News agency ANI quoted him as saying: “As Prime Minister Modi wants, Punjab will develop with the help of Preet Kaurji.” Become stronger. “

When Ms Kaur was asked why she quit the Congress, she said: “I don’t want to go back to the past. I had a good innings in the Congress and I hope I have a better one in the BJP too. One round.”

Ms Kaur has won the Patiala seat four times, including in 2019, when it was also held by Amarinder Singh.

Ms Kaul’s exit will be a setback for the Congress party, which won eight of Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 but faces challenges from its Indian ally AAP, which is currently in power in the state, and India’s The challenge of the PPP.

Despite agreement on seat-sharing agreement in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Goa and Chandigarh, AAP and Congress have decided to go it alone in Punjab as they are currently the two major parties in the state. The AAP on Thursday also released a list of eight candidates, including five state ministers, for the Punjab Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP, on the other hand, is trying to strengthen its presence in the state by reviving its alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal, which quit the NDA over the 2020 farmers’ protests.