Shot in arm for SAD as ex-Cong MLA joins party

The SAD received a major boost in Bathinda,represented by party MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal,after Congress leader and former MLA from Budhlada,Mangat Rai Bansal,joined the Akalis in Mansa on Tuesday.

Bansal,who had spearheaded a strong protest against the SAD during the Gobindpura thermal plant row,is another prominent Congress leader to join SAD after Deepinder Singh Dhillon and Amarinders brother Malwinder Singh had quit Congress to join the ruling party.

While Dhillon,a former loyalist of Patialas royal family,contested as an Independent from Dera Bassi after being denied a Congress ticket in the Assembly polls,Malwinder was miffed at Amarinders son Raninder Singh being given the party ticket from Samana.

Bansal had unsuccessfully contested from the newly-carved Maur constituency on a Congress ticket against SADs Janmeja Singh Sekhon in the Assembly polls.

Alleging that he was fielded from a wrong constituency,in which he was not interested,Bansal said: I wanted to contest from Mansa,but I was given the ticket from Maur. Moreover,my defeat was engineered by the party. Captain Amarinder Singh did not campaign for me. He used to come to Talwandi Sabo and Rampura Phul,but did not come to Maur,which was located in the middle.

Blaming the state Congress chief for Congress defeat in the Assembly polls,he added: It was due to Captain Amarinder Singh that Congress lost a battle that it had almost won. He is playing in to the hands of two to four political persons. Moreover, Amarinder was inaccessible and it was hard to meet him.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram