Third front formalising in Punjab; I am with it, says Gen JJ Singh (retd)

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 17

Former Army chief Gen JJ Singh (retd) on Thursday said a formidable third front was emerging in Punjab and would potentially change the political landscape of the state.

Singh, who resigned from the Shiromani Akali Dal a while ago, will on Thursday make his first public appearance in Patiala alongside sitting Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi.

The two will interact with the city’s intellectuals at Baradari to understand what the people want for Punjab and then to chart a future course.

Gen JJ Singh told The Tribune that he was entering his second political innings after the 2017 experiment with state polls . “This will be historic,” he maintained.

Singh said he is a serious contender for the Patiala Lok Sabha seat, though Punjab Manch— the so called third front — will decide about his candidature.

Singh said the event is one of the many which the emerging third front in Punjab planned to reach out to locals and find out their problems.

The Third Front, he said, was likely to be named Punjab Democratic Alliance and will consist of five broad groupings —the Sukhpal Singh Khaira-led breakaway AAP faction, the Dharamvira Gandhi group, the Akali Dal Taksali which broke away from the SAD, the Bains brothers of Ludhiana and the BSP.

“I would add a sixth group of eminent personalities of Punjab who want to meaningfully serve the state,” Singh said ahead of the evening event.

Asked when the alliance would declare a formal front with details of seat adjustments for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Singh said, “Talks are at an advanced stage and an announcement of a formal alliance and front will be made at the right time.”

To a query about whether he would fight the upcoming Lok Sabha election, Singh said he would very much consider that depending on what the alliance partners decided.

Singh had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections against Capt Amarinder Singh from Patiala. He’s now among principal advisers to the third front which is taking shape in Punjab as a potential alternative to the ruling Congress and the opposition Akali Dal politics.

The front has emerged at a time when the AAP is fast losing base and crumbling in the state.

Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha seats.