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Punjab
Image: @mssirsa

5 Congress, 2 Akali Dal leaders join BJP in Punjab

| @indiablooms | Jun 05, 2022, at 03:15 am

Chandigarh: In a fresh jolt for Congress in Punjab, four of its leaders and former ministers joined the BJP on Saturday while two Akali Dal leaders also took the saffron party's membership.

The leaders who joined BJP today are Raj Kumar Verka, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Sunder Sham Arora and Gurpreet Singh Kangar from Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal MLAs Sarup Chand Singla and Mohinder Kaur Josh.

Verka is a significant gain for the BJP being a prominent Dalit leader from Majha region of Punjab. He is a three-time MLA and was the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment and Minorities in the previous Congress government.

Sunder Sham Arora, who previously held the assembly constituency of Hoshiarpur, was the Industry and Commerce Minister in the previous Congress government.

Balbir Sidhu is a three-time MLA from Mohali and was the Health Minister in the previous Congress government.

Gurpreet Kangar, who is also a three-time MLA from Rampura Phul, was the Revenue Minister.

All the leaders, who joined the BJP today, had lost the 2022 Punjab assembly elections.

Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Som Parkash, state unit chief Ashwani Sharma, and senior party leaders Dushyant Gautam, Tarun Chugh, Sunil Jakhar and Manjinder Singh Sirsa welcomed the new entrants to BJP.

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