Denied ticket, BJP veteran Madan Mohan Mittal joins Akali Dal

Chandigarh, January 29

Once a bitter critic of the Akalis, veteran BJP leader Madan Mohan Mittal joined the SAD in the presence of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal here today.

He quit the BJP after he was denied the ticket. As the senior most leader in the BJP, he had earlier said several times that the BJP should contest the elections alone as the party was not benefitting from the SAD-BJP alliance. Today, however, he joined the Akalis.

Insiders say Mittal’s decision is an example of disillusionment among traditional BJP leaders. The BJP has given preference to new entrants from other parties, leaving a large section of committed BJP leaders disenchanted.

Mittal, who was accompanied by his son Arvind Mittal and the entire rank and file of the BJP of the Anandpur Sahib constituency, said he resigned from the BJP to fight the injustice meted out to the segment. Sukhbir, while welcoming Mittal into the SAD fold, appointed him the party’s halqa incharge from Anandpur Sahib. He also announced the appointment of Mittal the senior vice-president of the party. — TNS 

Crisis man

After the assassination of state BJP president Hit Abilashi by Khalistani militants in 1988, nobody was ready to even identify himself as a member of the party in Punjab. It was in these circumstances that Madan Mohan Mittal came forward to take the saffron party’s rein.