Bharatiya Janata Party has established itself as the largest political party in the country. Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in most of the states of the country but in Punjab the party is continuously failing. Despite all the efforts, the party is not able to perform much in Punjab till now. After the defeat of Congress in the 2022 assembly elections, factionalism in the party came to the fore. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took advantage of this and included many senior leaders of Punjab Congress in its party.
The Congress party had to face a crushing defeat in the 2022 assembly elections in Punjab. The main reason for this defeat was factionalism within the party. All the big leaders of the party were fighting among themselves. Captain Amarinder Singh was removed from the post of Chief Minister and the command was handed over to Charanjit Singh Channi, but despite this the party could win only 17 seats. After this crushing defeat, many Congress leaders started leaving the party one by one. Many of these leaders had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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What happened to the leaders who joined BJP??
To increase its influence in Punjab, BJP worked on the strategy of including leaders of other parties into its party. Under this, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar was included in the party. Former Chief Minister and veteran leader Captain Amarinder Singh’s party was merged with BJP. Manpreet Badal, who was the Finance Minister in the Congress and Akali governments in Punjab for a long time, was also brought into the BJP. Senior Punjab Congress leader Ravneet Singh Bittu was also included in the party. Apart from this, many leaders were given place in BJP. Many people started calling Bharatiya Janata Party the party of old Congress leaders in Punjab. However, this strategy of BJP also seems to be failing in Punjab and senior leaders of the party are now again talking about forming an alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal.
What happened to the leaders who joined BJP??
Except Punjab Congress, most of the leaders in BJP could not do anything special for the party. Despite having many big faces in the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party suffered a crushing defeat. BJP had given the post of state president to Sunil Jakhar, who came from Congress. Sunil Jakhar also tried to strengthen the organization in the entire state but it did not have any significant impact on the ground. Last year itself he had offered to resign from the post of state president. However, BJP has not relieved him from the post. Sunil Jakhar has not been active in party work for a long time but he remained active during the Ludhiana by-elections held this year. BJP has not yet removed him from the post but along with him, Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma has been made the working president of the state.
Captain Amarinder Singh had separated from the Congress Party in 2021 and formed a party named Punjab Lok Congress but he suffered a crushing defeat in the 2022 assembly elections. After this defeat, he merged his party with BJP on 19 September 2022. Since then he is in BJP. His wife was a Congress MP but after Captain Amarinder Singh left the Congress, it was almost certain that she too would leave the party.
He joined BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and contested from his seat Amritsar itself. However, he had to face defeat from Aam Aadmi Party leader Balbir Singh from this seat. Captain Amarinder Singh is now openly demanding an alliance between BJP and Akali Dal. He said in an interview that if BJP does not form an alliance with Akali Dal, it will not be able to form the government even in 2032.
Ravneet Singh Bittu is also included in the list of BJP leaders who have been brought into the party from Congress. He joined BJP on 24 March 2024. After this, he was given ticket from Ludhiana in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections but he was defeated by Congress leader Raja Vadig. However, even after this, he was included as a Minister of State in the Narendra Modi cabinet and later sent to Parliament through Rajya Sabha. At present he is one of the most active leaders in Punjab BJP. He is also aggressive on Akali Dal including Congress Party and Aam Aadmi Party.
Manpreet Singh has been a long-time active leader in Punjab politics. He held ministerial posts in the Akali Dal and Congress governments and holds the record for being the Finance Minister for the longest period. In 2017, he reached the Assembly by winning from Bathinda Urban on Congress ticket and became Finance Minister in Captain Amarinder Singh’s government. In 2022, Congress gave him ticket from Bathinda Urban but he lost. After this he also joined the hands of Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP made him a candidate in the 2024 by-election from his old seat Gidderbaha but he lost. Since then he has been less active in politics.
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BJP became the home of outside leaders
After Captain Amarinder Singh’s resignation from the post of Chief Minister, 9 leaders who were his cabinet colleagues had joined BJP. Leaders like former ministers Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Raj Kumar Verka, Sunder Sham Arora, Balbir Singh Sidhu and Rana Gurmeet Sodhi have joined BJP. The party is dominated by outside leaders. In the 2022 assembly elections, one-third of the candidates from Congress and Akali Dal had joined BJP. A report in The Tribune has claimed that these leaders could not do much work for the party. Old party workers are feeling uneasy because of the leaders coming from other parties. BJP is still the fourth largest party in Punjab. Leaders like Sunil Jakhar and Captain Amarinder Singh are demanding an alliance with the Akali Dal but the party seems to be in a go-alone mood.
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