CHANDIGARH: After 75 days, Awaaz-e-Punjab, the forum floated by cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has struck a deal with Congress, as Olympian and former Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Pargat Singh and former BJP MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of Sidhu, would join the Congress on November 28.
Navjot Singh Sidhu is likely to follow in the near future though no date of his joining has been given by the party.
Sidhu will be the star campaigner of the party in the forthcoming assembly elections. The forum is all set to merge into the Congress.
This was tweeted by Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh.
Their joining was cleared following a meeting of Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur and Pargat Singh with Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Ghulam Nabi Azad to seal the deal. Later both of them met Capt Amarinder Singh at his residence in Delhi and discussed the formalities of their joining. Former BJP MP Sidhu, who in Mumbai, was not present at the meeting.
According to sources, the Sidhu couple would be accommodated suitably. It may be noted that Capt Amarinder Singh has resigned from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat represented by Navjot Singh thrice.
Navjot Kaur is likely to be given a ticket from her present constituency Amritsar (East); she had resigned from the saffron party on September 14. Pargat Singh is expected to be offered a ticket from Nakodar or Shahkot seat. He is presently the MLA of Jalandhar (Cantonment). He had resigned from the Akali Dal on September 12.
Amarinder Singh said the party would be further strengthened ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections with the joining of like-minded people.
Sidhu had resigned from the Rajya Sabha in July and quit the BJP on September 15 and then floated Awaaz-e-Punjab with an eye on the Punjab assembly elections early next year. Sidhu had then said that his forum will not fight elections and will be aligning with a political party.
Earlier he had said that he was ready to join the congress minus Amarinder. He had then alleged a nexus between Badals and Amarinder and had said he would not work with him.
While the other two members of the forum Awaaz-e-Punjab independent MLAs from Ludhiana Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains had struck an alliance with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) two days back as their party Lok Insaaf Party got five seats to fight on.