‘Our alliance with BJP is confirmed’, states Amarinder Singh ahead of the Assembly polls

Chandigarh, December 17: Brushing away all speculations and affirming the much-anticipated move, Amarinder Singh today announced an alliance with BJP for the Punjab election, ever since he quit the Congress last month. Amarinder Singh tweeted his photos of hugging Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, BJP’s Punjab-in-charge.

 

Talking to the media, Amarinder Singh said, "Our alliance (with BJP) is confirmed. Only seat-sharing talks are going on. We will see who will contest were - our criteria for seat selection is purely winnability.” "The alliance will definitely, 101 percent win the elections," he added.

 

 

 

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat revealed in a separate post that seven rounds of talks have been held. Even before quitting the Congress, his party of 40 years, Amarinder Singh had been in talks with the BJP for a partnership in Punjab.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to withdraw the three controversial farm laws was driven partly by the party's plans for Punjab, a state where it played junior partner to the Akali Dal for decades until a break-up over the farm laws. As the BJP gets into a brand new alliance with Amarinder Singh, it plans to negotiate a senior partner status with a bigger share of seats than the debutant Punjab Lok Congress.

 

The alliance marks a big political reorientation in Punjab and adds the fourth corner to an increasingly intense contest that seemed to be heavily skewed towards Congress just months ago. The state's ruling Congress faces a tough challenge from Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Akali Dal's Sukhbir Badal has tied up with Mayawati's BSP.

Amarinder Singh, 79, exited the Congress after being abruptly replaced as Chief Minister in September - a shock ending to his protracted feud with Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. After cutting off all contact with the Congress leadership, the "Captain" held talks with PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.