Sidhu surprises AAP, floats party ahead of Punjab polls

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu floated a new party to fight elections in Punjab next year, a surprise move on a day that also saw a vertical split in the state unit of the AAP.

Sidhu joined hands with three top voices against the state’s ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance — former India hockey captain and suspended Akali MLA Pargat Singh and Ludhiana-based powerful independent state lawmakers and brothers Simarjeet and Balwinder Singh Bains. Sidhu’s Awaaze-e-Punjab, or the voice of Punjab, will likely shake up Ganpati idols on display at Dadar market. The 10-day festival begins on Monday. Leaders of the news political front in Punjab launched by former MP Navjot Singh Sidhu (2nd R) in Amritsar on Friday. the state’s political landscape so far dominated by the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance and the opposition Congress and AAP.

PRATHAM GOKHALE/HT