In a major setback to the Congress ahead of the 2022 Punjab elections, party MLA and Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi on Tuesday joined the BJP.
Considered close to former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Sodhi was part of his cabinet, but was left out of the team of new chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
In his resignation letter on Twitter, Sodhi said that he is deeply hurt by the constant squabbles and internal squabbles in the party. “It is harming the party as well as creating serious problems for the state and the government. I feel suffocated and helpless in the present situation, especially when the party has put the security of the state and communal harmony at stake.”
He said: “Instead of taking action to restore peace in Punjab, the senior Congress leadership is bent on destroying the border state for personal gain.”
The 67-year-old has been active in politics since 1973 and is considered one of the tallest leaders of the state. He was elected MLA in 2002 and won consecutive elections in 2007, 2012 and 2017. In 2018, he was given the post of Chief Whip of Congress.
The leader’s move comes amid Captain Amarinder’s claim that several Congress leaders are in touch with him and will jump ahead of the 2022 elections. Captain Amarinder’s Punjab Lok Congress has tied up with the BJP for the upcoming elections.
Earlier in an interview with CNN-News18, Singh had said that he wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to campaign for him in the elections. Singh, who openly criticized the Congress after resigning from the CM’s chair, said he would campaign for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand elections.
“It would be easy for me to attack the Congress. I want the PM to campaign for me and I will campaign for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand where there are Sikhs,” he had said.
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