In Punjab, the Congress suffered a setback, with four of its leaders and former ministers Raj Kumar Verka, Balbir Singh Sadhu, Sundar Sham Arora and Gurpreet Singh Kangar joining the BJP today. From Barnala, former Congress MLA Kewal Dhalon and former Shiromani Akali Dal MLAs Saroop Chand Singla and Mohinder Kaur Josh also joined the BJP. He was received by Union Ministers Gajinder Singh Shekhawat and Som Prakash, State Unit Chief Ashwini Sharma and senior party leaders Dashinat Gautam, Tarun Chagh, Sunil Jakhar and Manjinder Singh Sarsa. Balbir Sadhu, a three-time MLA from Mohali, was the Health Minister in the previous Congress government, while Gurpreet Kangar, a three-time MLA from Rampura Phol, was also the Revenue Minister. Mr Verka, a leading Dalit leader from the Majha area, is a three-time MLA and was the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment and Minorities in the previous government. Former Hoshiarpur MLA Sundar Sham Arora was the Minister for Industry and Commerce in the previous Congress government. All four leaders lost the 2022 state assembly election. Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Chandigarh today, where he met party leaders of the state. After that he went to Panchkula, Haryana and inaugurated Khelo India Youth Games.

Amrinder blamed the Gandhi family

Former Chief Minister Capt Amrinder Singh, who left the Congress to form his own party, has blamed the Gandhi family for the party’s defeat in the Assembly elections earlier this year. Amrinder Singh had said that before retiring from the post of Chief Minister, the Congress was kept at ease in Punjab. After his expulsion, as last year, Amrinder Singh left the Congress and formed his own organization, the Punjab Lok Congress. He criticized the Congress Working Committee for trying to blame itself for the defeat in Punjab, instead of accepting it. His “mistakes”.