Amarinder Singh to join BJP today, merge his newly formed Punjab Lok Congress

New Delhi, Sep 19: Captain Amarinder Singh is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday at 4.30 p.m. in New Delhi. Singh is most likely to merge his newly-formed Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with the saffron party as well.

The two-time chief minister had floated the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) last year after quitting the Congress following his unceremonious exit as chief minister.

Seven former MLAs and one former MP, who joined the PLC, will be among those to follow Singh on Monday.

The 80-year-old veteran's presence and popularity, his switch to the BJP is seen as a brilliant move by the saffron party for the upcoming assembly election in Himachal Pradesh.

However, the Congress was routed in the Assembly polls in February with Charanjit Singh Channi losing both the seats he contested.

The PLC contested the elections in alliance with the BJP and the Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyuk). However, none of its candidates could register a win, with Singh himself losing from his home turf of Patiala Urban.

This is not the first time that Amarinder has decided to switch the party.

In 1980, Amarinder joined the Congress. Despite being a close aide of the Gandhis, he quit the party in 1984.

Captain joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) after his resignation and was made a minister in Surjit Singh Barnala's government in September 1985.

When the police raided Darbar Sahib on Barnala's orders, he resigned from the ministry seven months later in protest. With this move, Amarinder won the trust of Sikhs.

Singh returned to Congress in 1998 after the Akalis denied him a ticket for the elections in 1997.

He contested for Parliament from Amritsar in 2014 and defeated BJP heavyweight Arun Jaitley, boosting his popularity at national-level.

It helped him in winning the state with a huge majority of 77 seats.

However, in 2021 Captain quit the Congress after being replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi last year.

Despite his popularity, the party failed to impress the people of Punjab in the previous elections.

At the fag end of his political carrier, Amarinder is now set to start his second innings in Indian politics.