Chandigarh, Aug 28 (IANS) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday suffered a setback as veteran leader Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, considered close to party chief Sukhbir Badal, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Dhillon’s move is expected to give a significant boost to the AAP in the upcoming Gidderbaha Assembly by-election.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann formally inducted Dhillon into the party at a public meeting in Gidderbaha, where he also welcomed him officially.
Alongside Dhillon, hundreds of Akali leaders and workers who support him also joined the AAP. Dhillon had contested the assembly elections from Gidderbaha on an Akali Dal ticket in 2017 and 2022. In 2022, he narrowly lost to Congress candidate Amarinder Singh Raja Warring by just 1,350 votes.
Mann stated that Dhillon did not leave the Akali Dal, rather the party left him.
“When good ideas and valuable individuals are not given importance within the party, people are forced to leave,” he quipped, adding that all individuals working for Punjab are welcomed into the AAP.
Mann also slammed former Minister Manpreet Badal, saying that despite joining his party with the intention of bringing change to Punjab, Manpreet Badal abruptly disbanded his party and joined the Congress.
Manpreet Badal acted out of self-interest, he added. He recounted that he had contested the 2012 elections from Lehragaga on behalf of Manpreet Badal’s party and, despite losing, remained committed to the people. Eventually, the people elected him and brought him to his current position.
Dhillon thanked the Chief Minister for welcoming him into the party and explained that Manpreet Badal’s activities had recently caused confusion among local Akali Dal cadres. Dhillon had he had sought a clarification from Sukhbir Badal, but received no clear response, which increased his doubts.
After meeting Mann, Dhillon decided to join the AAP. He expressed his commitment by stating that he is dedicating his 38 years of experience to Mann and AAP and pledged to fulfil any responsibility assigned to him honestly, without giving anyone cause for complaint.
–IANS
vg/vd
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
