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Ahead of Ludhiana West bypoll, ex-minister Thandal returns to Akali Dal fold
Sohan Singh Thandal, who had switched to BJP in October last year, said he has “returned to his roots”.
Former minister Sohan Singh Thandal returned to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) fold on Thursday, months after unsuccessfully contesting Chabbewal assembly polls on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket in November last year.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal welcomed Thandal into the party fold in Ludhiana.
Thandal, who had switched to BJP in October last year, said he has “returned to his roots”.
Welcoming Thandal back to the party, Sukhbir said: “There is a growing feeling in Punjab that the SAD alone can deal with the menace of rampant corruption and gangster culture unleashed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and bring back the era of peace and development.”
“This is the reason why Thandal has chosen to return to the party and this is why you will see a number of other leaders from all political parties joining the SAD in the coming days,” Sukhbir said.
Thandal said he had left the SAD due to some issues in his constituency but had always kept the SAD close to his heart.
“I never criticised the party and I am happy that the party always held me in high esteem”.
Thandal said there is a need to give a befitting answer to the AAP government in the Ludhiana West bypoll.
Once a core committee member of the SAD, Thandal won the 2012 assembly polls from the Chabbewal seat. However, his re-election bids in 2017 and 2022 were unsuccessful.
Thandal was the minister for jails, tourism and cultural affairs in the Akali government in Punjab. He was the MLA from the erstwhile Mahilpur assembly constituency in 1997, 2002 and 2007.
Speaking at the event earlier, Badal alleged that the AAP government has ‘ruined’ Punjab and there was a heightened sense of insecurity with the state witnessing murders and extortions on an everyday basis.
“The people of Ludhiana have also witnessed how all development work came to a halt during the last eight years during both the Congress and AAP governments. There is also anger amongst farmers who feel the AAP government is bent on forcibly evicting them from their land by acquiring 24,000 acres. We won’t allow one inch of land to be acquired”, Sukhbir asserted while appealing to the people to strengthen the SAD.
The SAD president also accused chief minister Bhagwant Mann of “surrendering the reins of power to Arvind Kejriwal and his coterie.”
“Never before has Punjab witnessed such a weak chief minister who is content enjoying the facilities of his post but has handed over the power of the state to Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain,” he said.
Badal also appealed to the voters of Ludhiana West to rise above political lines to support the candidature of Parupkar Ghumman. He said the election of Ghumman would pave the way for the redevelopment of Ludhiana by the forthcoming SAD government in 2027. “It will also result in the end of the gangster and extortion culture”, he added.
Senior leaders including Daljit Singh Cheema, Hira Singh Gabria, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Bhupinder Singh Bhinda, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Ranjit Dhillon, Parupkar Singh Ghumman were also present on the occasion.
