The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Jalandhar ex-mp’s wife, Cong Himachal in-charge join BJP
TWO PUNJAB Congress leaders, including its national secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bittu and Karmjeet Kaur Chaudhary, wife of the late Santokh Singh Chaudhary, joined the BJP Saturday. Both were welcomed into the BJP by Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and party national general secretary Vinod Tawde.
Bittu, who was the AICC secretary-in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, announced his resignation from the post and the primary membership of the party before joining the BJP.
Karamjit had last year unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha bypoll in Jalandhar following the death of her husband, who was the sitting MP. Karamjit had lost to AAP candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku, who too has switched to BJP and is the party candidate from Jalandhar.
Karamjit, whose family wields considerable influence on Dalit voters in some parts of the constituency, was a contender for the LS ticket from Jalandhar but the Congress picked former CM Charanjit Channi. In protest, Karmjeet’s son and Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary resigned as Congress chief whip in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
After joining BJP, Karamjit said, “My husband sacrificed his life for the Congress but party ignored his sacrifice”.
Meanwhile, Bittu’s jumping ship has come as shock for the Congress in Himachal. Bittu, a former chairman of Jalandhar Improvement Trust, was also a close aide of Priyanka Gandhi.
Bittu told reporters he had been feeling “suffocated” in the Congress after being with the party for over 35 years. “Threefour power centres work in the Congress and all of them seek to function independently,” he claimed, adding that he didn't wanttospeakagainstanyoneand has joined the BJP for the betterment of Punjab.