Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday announced that his newly-floated party, the Punjab Lok Congress, will contest the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The decision came after Singh met Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is the person in charge of BJP’s Punjab unit.
Earlier in the day, Shekhawat had said the two parties have decided to contest the polls together after holding seven rounds of talks, reported ANI. He added that seat-sharing will be discussed later.
Singh said that the decision on seat sharing would be taken on the basis of a candidate’s chances of winning. “We are 101% sure of winning this election,” the former chief minister said.
Meanwhile, 22 Patiala corporators, all belonging to the Congress, joined the Punjab Lok Congress on Friday at an event in the presence of Singh’s daughter Biba Jai Inder Kaur.
Singh, who was earlier with the Congress, had stepped down as Punjab’s chief minister on September 18 amid a tussle with state party President Navjot Singh Sidhu.
In October, he quit the Congress and floated the Punjab Lok Congress. At that time, Singh had said that he was hopeful of a seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP if the farmers’ concern about the agricultural laws were addressed. The saffron party, too, had said that it was open to an alliance with Singh.
The Bill to repeal the the three farm laws was passed in both Houses on Parliament on November 29.
On the same day, Singh had asserted that his party will form the next government in Punjab with support from the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukta).
Elections to the Punjab Assembly are expected to be held in February-March 2022.
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