Former minister and BJP veteran Madan Mohan Mittal, 82, joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) here on Saturday in the presence of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal. The SAD chief announced to appoint him as ‘halqa’ in-charge of Anandpur Sahib and senior vice-president of the party.
Mittal is the second prominent face of the BJP to join SAD after former minister Anil Joshi, who is now the Akali Dal candidate from Amritsar North seat.
The two-time former minister and four-time MLA from Anandpur Sahib seat, earlier known as Nangal, Mittal was upset after BJP denied ticket to his son Arvind Mittal, who was also ignored in the 2017 polls.
Now, Mittal is eyeing the Anandpur Sahib ticket but it has been allotted to the BSP and the party has already fielded Nitin Nanda. “I would like to contest from Anandpur Sahib if the SAD-BSP leadership agrees on that,” Mittal said.
Mittal has been an active voice of the BJP when the party was facing huge opposition because of the farm laws and had served as state BJP chief in the early 90s.
“We have seen rampant illegal mining in Anandpur Sahib constituency which needs to be stopped. Truckers and truck unions have also been robbed of their livelihoods. I have stepped forward to work for the welfare of the Anandpur Sahib people,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“We have seen rampant illegal mining in Anandpur Sahib constituency which needs to be stopped. Truckers and truck unions have also been robbed of their livelihoods. I have stepped forward to work for the welfare of the Anandpur Sahib people,” he said.
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