Ex-Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, BJP confirm alliance for upcoming assembly elections

Amarinder Singh with BJP's Punjab in-charge Gajendra Shekhawat (Image: Twitter/@captamarinder)

Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who recently floated a new political outfit, Punjab Lok Congress, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on December 17 announced their alliance for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

The seat-sharing pact would be decided later after discussing all the factors including winnability of the prospective candidates, Singh told reporters, with Union Minister and BJP's Punjab in-charge Gajendra Singh Shekhawat by his side.

"After seven rounds of talks, I want to make it clear today that the BJP and Amarinder Singh will contest assembly elections in Punjab together and we are working together," Shekhawat added.

On seat-sharing, the BJP veteran said an announcement would be made at an "appropriate time". "The alliance will definitely, 101 per cent win the elections. And winnability will be the main criterion in finalising seats," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

Met union minister & @BJP4India incharge for Punjab, Shri @gssjodhpur in New Delhi today to chalk out future course of action ahead of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections. We have formally announced a seat adjustment with the BJP for the 2022 Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections. pic.twitter.com/cgqAcpW2MW

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) December 17, 2021

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The 117-seat Punjab assembly polls are expected to be held around February next year. The elections appear to be a four-cornered contest among the ruling Congress, the state's prime opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the alliance of erstwhile-ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the newly-formed coalition of Punjab Lok Congress and BJP.

Singh, who led the Congress to a two-third majority victory in the 2017 assembly polls and subsequently took charge as the chief minister, resigned in September this year after accusing the party leadership of "humiliating" him.

Singh's exit came amid a bitter intra-party feud which pitted him against former cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Sidhu. After the 79-year-old 'Captain' resigned as the chief minister, the Congress announced Charanjit Singh Channi, a leader belonging to the Dalit community, as his successor.

Meanwhile, the BJP lost its 24-year-old ally Akali Dal in September last year. The latter decided to break its ties with the saffron party over the central farm laws that were passed in the Parliament.

The laws were scrapped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, following a year-long protest by farmer groups belonging mainly to Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.

The repeal of farm laws had led to speculations that the BJP and SAD may work towards a rapproachment. However, Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said the party would contest the upcoming polls only in alliance with the Mayawati-led BSP.