Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has hinted a tie-up between his fledgling Punjab Lok Congress and the BJP could be announced soon. Amarinder had resigned as chief minister in September and subsequently quit the Congress.
Amarinder told NDTV on Tuesday he had discussed the possibility of an alliance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Amarinder told NDTV, “On Saturday, I hope to see the BJP president [J.P. Nadda]”.
Earlier, Amarinder had indicated any tie-up with the BJP would have to be preceded by action from the government over the three contentious farm laws. After Modi announced on November 19 that the three laws would be repealed, Amarinder was among the first non-BJP leaders to welcome the move.
Referring to the prospects of his new party, Amarinder declared, “As of today, our own feedback is that there's a total swing towards the BJP. Many Hindus are supporting the BJP and my party. There are 36% Hindus in Punjab and we are going to take up that chunk, more than the Congress. Hopefully, we will also get a lot of support from farmers.”
Amarinder told NDTV he was “not at all uncomfortable” with the BJP's communal language and argued communalism was not an issue in Punjab. “I have never been involved in any way in any communal business, especially in Punjab. This has been one state where we call ourselves members of Punjabiyat, which means all the religions are part of one family,” the former chief minister said.
Amarinder declared “three-to-four people” were approaching to join his party daily. “We already have 30-40 applicants, and I can't reveal the numbers of sitting MLAs and MPs who are with us,” he revealed.
On Monday, Amarinder had met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. After the meeting, Amarinder told reporters his party would have a “seat adjustment” with the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal-Sanyukt faction of Sukdhev Singh Dhindsa.
