Navjot Singh Sidhu may join Congress today

Navjot Singh Sidhu had represented Amritsar in the Lok Sabha between 2004 and 2014 and had accused BJP of using him as a “decorative piece” and trying to keep him out of Punjab.

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Navjot Singh Sidhu is likely to officially join the Congress Party on Monday.

Navjot Singh Sidhu had represented Amritsar in the Lok Sabha between 2004 and 2014 and had accused BJP of using him as a “decorative piece” and trying to keep him out of Punjab. (HT File photo)

According to sources, Sidhu wanted to join the Congress in presence of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi but since he is out of country, he decided the date accordingly. Sidhu is now expected to join the party on Monday when former prime minister Manmohan Singh releases its Punjab elections manifesto in New Delhi.

The release in the Capital will be coupled with parallel releases at Chandigarh and district level.

The Central Election Committee (CEC) of Congress for Punjab is scheduled to meet on January 10, after which the remaining 40 party candidates will be declared.

Sidhu, who had represented Amritsar in the Lok Sabha between 2004 and 2014, had accused BJP of using him as a “decorative piece” and trying to keep him out of Punjab. Both Sidhu and his wife had quit the BJP last year over differences with the top leadership.

After his exit from BJP, Sidhu had also formed a new political front -- “Aawaaz-e-Punjab”, with India’s former hockey captain Pargat Singh and Punjab MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwant Singh Bains.

However, Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had asserted earlier that Sidhu is a “human bomb” and “would explode once he entered the Congress”.