Sri Hargobindpur MLA Balwinder Singh Laddi on Sunday returned to the Congress after he left it for the Bharatiya Janata Party, reported NDTV.
Laddi had joined the BJP on December 28. He was re-inducted into the Congress last night in the presence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and party leader Harish Chaudhary.
The Congress had earlier hinted that Laddi may not get a ticket for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections but decided to offer him the candidature after he joined the BJP, according to The Indian Express.
Along with Laddi, Congress MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa, who is the brother of senior party leader Pratap Bajwa, had also joined the BJP on December 28. Bajwa, however, has not returned to the Congress.
The Punjab unit of the Congress has seen unrest over the last few months.
Amarinder Singh who became the chief minister after the party won the 2017 state elections, had stepped down from his post on September 18 after a prolonged turf war with Sidhu. In October, he quit the Congress and floated a new party, the Punjab Lok Congress, which has now decided to ally with the BJP and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukta).
On September 20, Channi took over as the new chief minister. However, soon after Sidhu resigned as the Punjab Congress chief objecting to appointments made by Channi to the posts of the state’s advocate general and director general of police.
After several rounds of talks, Sidhu withdrew his resignation in November, but has often criticised the government publicly.
The Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal are also contesting the upcoming polls.
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