New Delhi: Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat confirmed that BJP and Captain Amarinder Singh's new political outfit Punjab Lok Congress would fight the upcoming Punjab election together.
"After 7 rounds of talks, today I confirm that BJP and Punjab Lok Congress are going to fight the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections together. Topics like seat share will be discussed later," ANI quoted Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as saying.
The alliance was sealed after Amarinder Singh met Gajendra Shekhawat, who is also Punjab BJP in-charge, in New Delhi on Friday. Shekhawat had met Amarinder Singh in Chandigarh earlier this month as well.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Amarinder Singh said he was "101 per cent" sure of winning the election.
"We are ready and we are going to win this election. The decision on seat sharing will be taken on the seat to seat basis, with winnability being the priority," ANI quoted Amarinder Singh as saying.
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After resigning as the chief minister following a bitter spat with Navjot Singh Sidhu, Amarinder Singh quit the Congress and formed his own party named Punjab Lok Congress.
Last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the BJP was in talks with Amarinder Singh and former Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa to forge an alliance ahead of the polls.
This will be the first election that will present a four-cornered fight in Punjab. The state has mostly seen a bipolar contest, with the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine alternating power almost every five years. However, this time SAD and BJP are not in alliance.