Akali Dal Leaders Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, Jasjeet Singh Atwal, Several Others Join BJP

On Saturday, CR Kesavan, the great-grandson of India's first Indian Governor-General, C Rajagopalachari, had also joined the BJP.

Akali Dal leader Sardar Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal joined BJP on Sunday

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Prominent leaders of Akali Dal, Sardar Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal and Sardar Jasjeet Singh Atwal, along with several others from Punjab on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in New Delhi. The induction took place at the BJP's national headquarters in the presence of senior party leaders, reported ANI.

According to sources within the BJP, Dr Maitreyan, a former Rajya Sabha member and AIADMK leader, is also expected to join the saffron party on Sunday, ANI stated.

On Saturday, CR Kesavan, the great-grandson of India's first Indian Governor-General, C Rajagopalachari, had also joined the BJP. He had resigned from the Congress party on February 23, saying that he has not even seen vestiges of the values that made him work for the party with dedication for over two decades.

Kesavan shared his resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Twitter saying he could no longer concur with “what the party symbolises, stands for or seeks to propagate”.

His resignation came within a month of the desertion by former Union minister AK Antony’s son, Anil Antony, who parted ways with the party after coming out in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversial BBC documentary series.

Earlier, on Thursday, Anil Antony joined the BJP in the presence of Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and V Muraleedharan, along with Kerala BJP chief K Surendran and senior party leaders Tarun Chugh and Anil Baluni.

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy also joined the BJP at a function held at the party headquarters in the national capital on Friday. Union minister Prahlad Joshi, general secretary Arun Singh, and MP K Laxman were present at the occasion.

Reddy, who was the last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, had resigned in protest against the Congress party's decision to bifurcate the state.

These developments come ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections.