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Brahmpura, son to return to SAD today
The acting jathedar of the Akal Takht is said to be have played a major role in the return of the Brahampuras to the Akali fold; the Brahmpuras have a strong hold over the Khadoor Sahib assembly seat
Amritsar Former Punjab minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, along with his son Ravinder Singh Brahmpura, will return to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the presence of party patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, and president Sukhbir Singh Badal in Chandigarh on Thursday.
The senior Brahmpura, a close friend of the senior Badal, along with former minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan and ex-MP Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala had raised the banner of revolt against Sukhbir in December 2018. The senior Brahmpura, the president of the SAD-Taksali party, which had merged with Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s SAD (Democratic) a few months ago, had been denouncing the Akal leaders for pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, in a blasphemy case.
Sources said the acting jathedar of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, Giani Harpreet Singh has played a major role in bringing Brahmpura and his son back to the SAD fold.
“We are rejoining the SAD in the presence of Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir in Chandigarh on Thursday. All arrangements have been completed. We are obeying the appeal of the Akal Takht jathedar, who had asked us to get united for the panth,” Ravinder told HT over phone.
It is likely that the SAD might announce Ravinder as its Punjab polls candidate from the Khadoor Sahib assembly segment, which is also known as the ‘panthic’ assembly. Ravinder had won by-polls on the seat in 2016, after Congress MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki resigned over sacrilege incidents in the state.
When the SAD-BJP alliance was in power, the senior Brahmpura was known as ‘Majhe Da Jarnail’ (the leader of Majha). After Brahmpura’s ouster from the party, Bikram Singh Majithia took on the mantel. The development comes soon after the Punjab Police issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Majithia, who was booked in a drugs case on Tuesday.
With the return of the Brahmpuras to the party fold, the Congress party will have a tough competition during the election, sources claim. The senior Brahmpura, who has been keeping unwell, had also been launching attacks against Majithia for allegedly ‘running the drug trade’. Previously, former MP Ajnala’s son, Bonny Ajnala, had returned to the SAD and was announced as the party candidate from Ajnala assembly seat.
