E-Paper
Former minister Babli, two others join BJP
They joined the BJP in the presence of its national general secretary Arun Singh, former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who is party’s co-incharge for Haryana election and Haryana unit president Mohan Lal Badoli
Former Haryana development and panchayat minister Devender Singh Babli, who resigned from all posts of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) recently, his former colleague Sanjay Kablana and former Bhondsi jail superintendent Suneel Sangwan, joined BJP in New Delhi on Monday.
They joined the BJP in the presence of its national general secretary Arun Singh, former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who is party’s co-incharge for Haryana election and Haryana unit president Mohan Lal Badoli.
Devender Babli won as Tohana MLA on the Jannayak Janata Party ticket in 2019 and was a minister in the government headed by former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar till March this year when the saffron party parted ways with the JJP. Sanjay Kablana had contested the last assembly polls on JJP’s ticket from Badli assembly seat and finished third. Suneel Sangwan is the son of former minister Satpal Sangwan, who finished second in the 2019 assembly polls from Dadri on JJP’s ticket. The BJP is likely to field Babli from Tohana, Suneel Sangwan from Dadri and Sanjay Kablana from Badli instead of party’s former state chief OP Dhankar, who is keen to contest from adjacent Bahadurgarh seat.
Two days ago, the Congress party’s Haryana in-charge Deepak Babria had denied ticket to Babli citing he is not a primary member of the party. The superintendent of Gurugram’s Bhondsi jail Suneel Sangwan on Sunday had submitted his resignation to the home department’s additional chief secretary.
Babli said the BJP is driven with a developmental mindset. He expressed confidence that the party would return to power in Haryana for a third term.
BJP general secretary Arun Singh praised Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and his government, saying, “The government has worked for the needy and youngsters. A pro-BJP mood prevails in Haryana and the party will retain power in the state. This is why leaders from other political parties are leaving their organisations and joining the BJP.”
Deb, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, congratulated the new members and said that three other former MLAs had joined the BJP on Sunday, including the mayor of Ambala. “With so many people joining the party, it shows that people favour the BJP government in the state,” he said.
The elections in Haryana will be held in a single phase on October 5 and the counting of votes will take place on October 8.
