BJP leader Madan Mohan Mittal joins Shiromani Akali Dal

Tribune News Service

Anandpur Sahib, January 29

Veteran BJP leader Madan Mohan Mittal joined SAD in presence of Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal at party's head office here on Saturday.

Sukhbir Badal also announced the appointment of Mittal as senior vice president of the party.

The SAD-BSP alliance has offered ticket to Mittal's elder son Arvind Mittal from Anandpur Sahib.

The BSP will drop Nitin Nanda, who was earlier announced as the party candidate from there.

Mittal was upset after the BJP ignored his request to field his son from Anandpur Sahib.

Arvind, in order to pursue politics, had left the job of additional advocate general in 2015.

The BJP, ignoring the Mittals, preferred to field Parminder Sharma, a former district planning board president. Even Madan Mohan Mittal was denied the ticket.

Sharma lost to Congress candidate Rana KP Singh, still he was given the ticket by party for the second consecutive time.

According to sources, he had held a meeting with a senior SAD leader in Ropar on Thursday. The final decision was taken following a meeting between the Mittals and SAD-BSP leaders, including SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal at the latter’s residence in Chandigarh on Friday night.