Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu finally ended months of speculation when he joined the Congress on Sunday. It had been speculated earlier that the three-time former MP might ally with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Punjab polls.
Sidhu took the decision after meeting party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, ending a long period of vacillation. He was supposed to have joined the Congress last week but went incommunicado at the last minute, reports The Hindustan Times.
Navjot Singh Sidhu joins Congress. He met Congress Vice president Rahul Gandhi a short while ago. pic.twitter.com/c1tRfUf5jq
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 15, 2017
The 53-year-old former parliamentarian quit the BJP in September 2016 after alleging that he had been sidelined by the party. The BJP had asked him to surrender his parliamentary seat of Amritsar for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who eventually lost the constituency in 2014, reports The Times of India.
Two months after Sidhu quit the BJP, his wife, Navjyot Kaur Sidhu, joined the Congress.
Sidhu had met with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday to discuss the details of his formal induction to the party.
Delhi: Navjot Singh Sidhu leaves from Rahul Gandhi’s residence; joined Congress a short while ago pic.twitter.com/ZyBfOWZ1xs
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 15, 2017
Ahead of the Punjab assembly elections, the Congress has released the names of 100 candidates. It still needs to select candidates for the remaining 17 seats, including one for the Amritsar East constituency.
