Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu will join the Aam Aadmi Party on August 15, officials told NDTV. He, however, will not be projected as AAP's chief ministerial candidate. Instead, he will lead the party's campaign in Punjab ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal is likely to make the announcement soon and Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu might join the AAP as well.
There had been speculation over whether Siddhu would continue to be a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party since he resigned as a Rajya Sabha MP on July 18. The 53-year-old had said he had stepped down as he had been asked to stay away from Punjab.
Sidhu was appointed a BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha in April 2016, two years after he was asked to step down from his Lok Sabha constituency of Amritsar so current Finance Minister Arun Jaitley could contest the seat. Sidhu had been elected to the Amritsar seat twice – in 2004 and 2009.
AAP had earlier said Sidhu was welcome to join the party. The AAP is contesting the 2017 Assembly elections in Punjab.
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