'Outsiders' dominate Punjab BJP core panel

Vishav Bharti

Chandigarh, September 17

Outsiders, including former Congress and Akali leaders, have outnumbered “traditional BJP leaders” in the Punjab core committee of the party, which was announced today.

Switched over from Congress, Akali Dal

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• 61 office-bearers named by state party chief Sunil Jakhar; 30 joined recently
• Of them, 14 switched over from the Congress and nine from the Shiromani Akali Dal

A list of 61 office-bearers was released by state party president Sunil Jakhar. Nearly 30 of them have joined the party in the recent past. Of them, 14 joined from the Congress and nine from the SAD recently. In the BJP’s 21-member state core committee, traditional BJP leaders are themselves in a minority. Of the 21, just 10 are “taksali” BJP men while 11 had joined the party recently. Former Congress men in the core committee include Sunil Jakhar, former CM Capt Amarinder Singh, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, Manpreet Badal, Kewal Dhillon and Raj Kumar Verka. Similarly, Charanjit Singh Atwal, Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia, Avinash Chander and PS Gill joined the BJP after leaving the SAD. Ex-DGP Sarabjit Singh has also been included in the core committee.

Among 12 state vice-presidents, four — Arvind Khanna, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Fatehjang Bajwa and Gurpreet Kangar — were in the Congress before the elections last year. Two other vice-presidents — Jagdeep Singh Nakai and Jasmine Sandhawalia — have also remained active in the SAD. Besides the SAD, Sandhawalia earlier also worked with the media team of the Congress. Among the state general secretaries, two of the five had joined the party recently.

Similarly, among the 12 state secretaries, five — Harjot Kamal, Daman Thind Bajwa, Sanjeev Khanna, Karanveer Tohra and Vandana Sangwan — were recent entrants.

Murmurs have already started in the BJP. Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal, party leader from Ludhiana, said senior leaders had been ignored and insulted. He said 75% outsiders were included. He called a meeting of senior leaders on Sunday at the Punjab BJP office in Chandigarh. He had extended an open invitation to all BJP leaders from across Punjab to the meeting.