CHANDIGARH : The Congress in Punjab has suffered a double setback ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the state, with the wife of former MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary, Karmjeet Kaur Chaudhary, joining the BJP. Santokh passed away during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab in 2023.
Additionally, Tajinder Bittu, the All India Congress Committee secretary in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, also joined the saffron party. Bittu was considered close to Priyanka Gandhi. The Congress gave the Jalandhar Lok Sabha ticket to former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
Both Congress leaders joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and national general secretary Vinod Tawde. Bittu said he had been feeling “suffocated” in the Congress after being with the party for over 35 years, saying it was hard to please everyone.