The Bharatiya Janata Party, Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress and the Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukta) will form a committee to decide on seat sharing for the Punjab Assembly elections, Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat told mediapersons on Monday, PTI reported.
Shekhawat also made a formal announcement of the alliance after leaders of the three parties held a meeting at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence in Delhi. Amarinder Singh had already announced the alliance earlier this month. The former Punjab chief minister had, however, not made any announcement on seat sharing.
On Monday, Shekhawat, the BJP’s election in-charge for Punjab, said that a joint committee comprising two leaders from each party will be formed to finalise the seat sharing agreement. Shekhawat also said that the alliance will release a joint manifesto for the elections, PTI reported.
Amarinder Singh, a former Congress leader, 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’ demands to repeal the agriculture laws were met.
After over a year of protests by farmers against the three agriculture laws, they were repealed on December 1.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had floated the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukta) after quitting the Shiromani Akali Dal in 2018.
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