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Expelled from SAD, Kahlon joins BJP
BJP’s state chief Sunil Jakhar says such leaders joining the saffron fold highlights the palpable undercurrent in favour of the BJP in Punjab.
Amritsar
A day after he was expelled from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) over “anti-party” activities, Ravikaran Singh Kahlon on Thursday joined the BJP in Chandigarh.
Kahlon was SAD’s Dera Baba Nanak assembly segment in-charge.
Son of late Akali leader and former speaker of Punjab assembly Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Ravikaran was expelled from the primary membership of the party by SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday for “anti-party activities” and “back-stabbing” the party.
Ravikaran had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Punjab assembly polls from the Dera Baba Nanak seat. He had also been appointed as the chairman of the Punjab Tubewell Corporation.
Considered an influential leader in Dera Baba Nanak and Fatehgarh Churian assembly segments of Gurdaspur Lok Sabha segment, Ravikaran’s joining the BJP will give a boost to party candidate Dinesh Singh Babbu’s campaigning.
Welcomed into the party fold by Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar and party leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kahlon said the SAD had turned into a “limited company” -- indirectly referring to control over the party by a few leaders.
Addressing the media, Kahlon took a swipe at Sukhbir, saying he was thankful to him for throwing him out of the party “for speaking the truth”.
Claiming the SAD was now a “limited company, Kahlon said the party chief is just a “rubber stamp” while party leader Bikram Singh Majithia calls the shots and is responsible for its “collapse”.
The SAD’s situation has gone from bad to worse, he said, adding that whoever speaks about the party’s welfare is “either shown the door or his voice is suppressed”.
Kahlon lashed out at senior Akali leader Majithia, accusing him of “destroying” the political career of many senior party leaders.
He also alleged that Majithia did not want him to contest from the Fatehgarh Churian assembly seat during the 2022 Punjab assembly polls, due to which he was asked to fight from the Dera Baba Nanak seat, which he lost by a small margin.
At the event in which Kahlon joined the BJP, state party chief Jakhar said the exodus of such leaders from other parties to the saffron fold highlights the palpable undercurrent in favour of the BJP in Punjab.
(With PTI inputs)
