Manpreet Badal formally joins Congress

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, January 14

Manpreet Badal formally joined the Congress after his party,  the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), merged with it on Friday.

PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal, the estranged nephew of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, went to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s house in New Delhi for the formal merger of the two parties.

Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who is the person in charge of Punjab Congress's affairs, announced the merger at a press briefing.

"We are happy that PPP under Manpreet Singh Badal has today merged with Congress."

"We are happy that Manpreet ji joined us. His entire party met (Congress vice-president) Rahul ji. We are starting our campaign on a good note. We are now looking for an alliance for the next election. We are trying to get all secular forces against fundamentalist force," Amarinder Singh, also present at the function, said.

He said that Congress had lost the last Assembly elections in 2012 by a 0.8 per cent vote share while PPP had got 5 per cent of the votes.

"Had we come together, we could have saved Punjab," he said. Senior Congress leaders Ambika Soni and Pratap Singh Bajwa were also present at the event.

Manpreet Badal, who was the state Finance Minister in 2010, quit the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal due to differences with his uncle Parkash Singh Badal and cousin Sukhbir Singh Badal.

On Tuesday, Manpreet had said: "It (the merger) is required to get rid of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the Badal family. Punjab needs to move beyond the personality-based politics."

Manpreet had parted ways with the Akali Dal in 2010 and formed the PPP. However, no candidate from his party, including himself, could win the 2012 Assembly elections.

When asked about the Congress's chief minister candidate, Ambika Soni said Amarinder Singh will be the "face" of Congress in the Punjab Assembly poll. (With inputs from PTI)