New Delhi: Months after the Congress’ drubbing in the Punjab Assembly elections, four grand old party leaders, including Raj Kumar Verka, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Sunder Sham Arora and Gurpreet Singh Kangar, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Chandigarh on Saturday.
Former Congress MLA from Barnala, Kewal Dhillon, also joined the BJP along with former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLAs Sarup Chand Singla and Mohinder Kaur Josh.
They joined the BJP in the presence of Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Som Parkash, PTI reported.
Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma and senior party leaders Dushyant Gautam, Tarun Chugh, Sunil Jakhar and Manjinder Singh Sirsa were also present on the occasion.
Balbir Sidhu, a three-time MLA from Mohali, was the health minister of Punjab in the previous Congress regime, while Gurpreet Kangar, a three-time MLA from Rampura Phul, was the revenue minister.
Verka, a prominent Dalit leader from the Majha region, was the minister for social justice and empowerment and minorities in the previous government.
Sunder Sham Arora, a former MLA from Hoshiarpur, was the industry and commerce minister.
Balbir Sidhu’s brother Amarjit Singh Sidhu, who is the mayor of Mohali corporation, too joined the saffron party.
This took place as Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Chandigarh on Saturday for a meeting with the BJP leaders.
Shah during his visit inaugurated the Khelo India Youth Games in Haryana’s Panchkula.