Punjab Election 2022: Former Army Chief General J J Singh Joins BJP

In 2018, the former army chief resigned from the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Former Army Chief General J J Singh. (Source: PTI)

New Delhi: Ahead of the upcoming Punjab Assembly Election 2022, Former Army Chief General Joginder Jaswant Singh joined the BJP on Tuesday in the company of party heavyweights, along with Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

Shekhawat and Punjab BJP leader Ashwani Sharma greeted Singh as a new member of the party today. General J J Singh is the second Army chief to join the BJP, following Gen V K Singh.

In 2018, the former army chief resigned from the Shiromani Akali Dal.

General J J Singh joined the SAD in 2017 and ran unsuccessfully against then-Congress leader Amarinder Singh in the Patiala Assembly elections that year.

In 2005, J J Singh, who had previously served as the governor of Arunachal Pradesh, became the Army's first Sikh commander-in-chief.

Earlier on Monday, following a meeting with multiple political parties, the Election Commission of India (ECI) declared that the votes in Punjab will be cast on February 20 rather than the previously scheduled date of February 14. The Commission said in a statement that elections will now be conducted on February 20.

Punjab Legislative Assembly 2022 Updated Schedule

• Date of Notification: January 25, 2022 (Tuesday)
• Last date of Nomination: February 1, 2022 (Tuesday)
• Date of Scrutiny: February 2, 2022 (Wednesday)
• Date of Withdrawal: February 4, 2022 (Friday)
• Date of Poll: February 20, 2022 (Sunday).
• Counting of Votes: March 10, 2022 (Thursday).

Punjab Legislative Assembly Election 2017

The state of Punjab witnessed a Congress surge which catapulted them to the ruling position after it had lost battleground in most of the states. Under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh, Congress was able to wrest 77 of the 117 assembly seats to come in power.

BJP with its major alliance partner in the state Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were able to secure only 18 seats. SAD bagged 15 out of the 94 seats it had contested on and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 3 of the 23 seats it fielded candidates.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contesting the Punjab Assembly after a better 2014 Lok Sabha outing was the headline grabber. It was able to gain 20 seats in its maiden outing.