Former Akali leader Jagdeep Cheema joins BJP in Chandigarh

Haryana CM Nayab Saini, Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu and Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma welcomed Cheema into party fold.

Former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Jagdeep Singh Cheema joined the BJP in the presence of Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini in Chandigarh on Monday.

Jagdeep Singh Cheema (centre) being welcomed into the BJP by Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini , Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu and Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma in Chandigarh on Monday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

Cheema is the son of former Punjab minister Randhir Singh Cheema. He unsuccessfully contested the assembly elections from Amloh in 2012 and Fatehgarh Sahib in 2022 on a SAD ticket.

Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu and Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma also attended Cheema’s joining ceremony. Welcoming him into the BJP, Sharma said people who want to see Punjab’s development and progress are keen to connect with the party.

Attacking the Aam Aadmi Party government, he claimed it has done nothing for the development of Punjab since coming to power in 2022.

He said the Bhagwant Mann government has “failed” to keep its poll promise of giving ₹1,000 per month to every woman in Punjab. The AAP has cheated women, he charged.

On the other hand, Sharma said, the Nayab Singh Saini government in Haryana is giving ₹2,100 per month to women under the Lado Lakshmi Yojana.

The Haryana government is also giving minimum support price (MSP) to farmers for all crops in the state.