CHANDIGARH: Political uproar erupted in the state after the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Friday raided the residence of former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and prominent realtor Ranjit Singh Gill. The move came just hours after Gill joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) late Thursday night. He was inducted into the saffron party by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. A separate search was also conducted at Gill’s office in Kharar.
There was a heavy police presence outside Gill’s Gillco Valley office in Kharar, while a state vigilance bureau team was at his residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh. Gill was unavailable for comment, but his close associates confirmed the raids. By evening, the searches had concluded, and officials reportedly left with certain relevant documents, sources said.
Gill, the owner of Gillco Group, had recently resigned from the primary membership of SAD. Once considered a close confidant of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Gill was inducted into the BJP by CM Saini at his official residence on Friday evening. After joining, Gill expressed confidence in the BJP’s policies and leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gill had earlier claimed that loyal party workers were allegedly being sidelined while outsiders were gaining prominence in the constituency. He had unsuccessfully contested the Kharar Assembly seat in the 2017 and 2022 Punjab Assembly elections and served as the 'halka in-charge' for SAD in Kharar until his resignation in July.
Gill was widely tipped to join AAP, especially after the sitting Kharar MLA Anmol Gagan Maan announced her resignation and decision to quit politics on July 19. However, she withdrew her resignation the very next day.
Sources in the BJP claimed that Gill was allegedly pressured to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which led to his sudden, late-night switch to the saffron party. "That is why he joined BJP abruptly. And by morning, the Vigilance Bureau was at his door-step," said a BJP leader present during his induction.
Sources further said that Gill is a strong contender for the BJP ticket from the Kharar Assembly seat in the upcoming elections.
Hitting out at the AAP, Punjab BJP Working President Ashwani Sharma alleged that the AAP had been pressuring Gill for the past 15 days to join their party. When Gill refused and chose to join the BJP instead—considering its vision for national development and the state’s future—the AAP-led Punjab government orchestrated a vigilance raid against him out of political vendetta.
Sharma further claimed that the timing of the raids, coming within just 12 hours of Gill’s BJP induction, proves that AAP now views the BJP as its principal political alternative in Punjab for the 2027 elections.
He added that CM Bhagwant Mann and the AAP government must remember that Punjabis fear no one. "Punjabis have now realized that the Punjab government is actually run by Delhi leaders Kejriwal and Sisodia," he said.
Reacting to the saffron party, AAP Punjab senior spokesperson Neel Garg questioned the suspicious timing, secrecy, and political message behind Gill’s induction, calling it an apparent attempt to shield individuals under investigation.
Garg asked why the induction was done in the dead of night and why it was not conducted by any Punjab BJP leader but instead by Haryana CM Nayab Saini. “What was so urgent that a person facing serious questions in a vigilance probe was brought into the BJP without any public event or senior Punjab leadership present? Why was it done quietly, away from public scrutiny?” he asked.
He also said that the person who was inducted into BJP is allegedly linked to the same vigilance case in which senior Akali leader Bikram Majithia has already been arrested for amassing disproportionate assets. "Just days ago, senior BJP leader Captain Amarinder Singh openly supported Majithia. Now, another person associated with that case has been brought into the BJP fold with the help of Haryana’s chief minister. Is this BJP’s way of signaling that it stands with those involved in the drug trade?" Garg asked.
He further questioned the absence of Punjab BJP’s leadership during the midnight induction. "Where was the Punjab BJP president or working president? Has the Punjab BJP become so weak that it now needs Haryana to manage its affairs?" he asked.
Garg warned that if any illegal financial transaction or link to drug money is proven, no individual—regardless of party affiliation—would be spared.