Former BJP minister Anil Joshi joins SAD
CHANDIGARH : Former minister Anil Joshi was among several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal inducted Joshi and former MLA Sukhjit Kaur Shahi and others into the party. Sukhbir also declared Joshi as the party candidate from the Amritsar North assembly seat in the next year’s elections. Joshi was also appointed the senior vice-president of the party.
In July, two-time legislator from Amritsar North, Joshi, 57, was expelled from the BJP for six years for his “anti-party” activities. He blamed the BJP state leadership for not giving true feedback to the Centre on the farm laws. He had also been demanding revocation of the three farm laws. Joshi remained legislator from the Amritsar North seat in 2007 and 2012. He faced defeat in the 2017 polls.
Besides, former BJP leader Raj Kumar Gupta was announced the party candidate from the Sujanpur seat in Pathankot. Several other BJP leaders also joined the SAD, including former Dasuya MLA Sukhjit Kaur, former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state chief Mohit Gupta and ex-deputy mayor of Ludhiana RD Sharma.
Joshi said the SAD-BJP alliance was stitched by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to remove frictions in the society after dark days of terrorism, which resulted in peace in the state.
“I was forced to quit the BJP because it turned a blind eye to the demands of farmers. Our state leaders misled the central leadership. Akali Dal is the only party that understands regional aspirations,” he said, adding that the Congress does not understand the pain of Punjabis and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wants yes men.