Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harmeet Singh Sandhu joined the ruling AAP on Tuesday in what has come as a setback for the Opposition party ahead of the Tarn Taran Assembly bypoll.
A three-time legislator, Sandhu is being touted as a frontrunner for the AAP ticket for the Tarn Taran by-election, which has been necessitated by the death of party MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal.
Sandhu was elected as an MLA from Tarn Taran three consecutive times. He was first elected in 2002 as an Independent candidate. He won from Tarn Taran in 2007 and 2012 on the SAD ticket. Sandhu also contested the 2017 and 2022 elections, but ended up on the losing side.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP’s Punjab incharge Manish Sisodia formally inducted Harmeet Sandhu into the party in Chandigarh. Several senior leaders of the party were present on the occasion. Talking to the media, Sandhu said he had been in politics for about 30 years and people of Tarn Taran had always given him love and respect. He said the AAP government’s clear policies and honest intentions inspired him to join the party. “I am deeply impressed by the Mann government’s decision to bring a strict law against incidents of sacrilege,” he added.
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