Preneet Kaur, wife of ex-Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, joins BJP
A year after being ousted from the Congress, Patiala MP Preneet Kaur officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Thursday. Kaur—who is the wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh—was suspended from the party in February last year due to alleged anti-party activities. After joining the BJP, she said, "I don't want to go into the past...I had a good innings with the Congress. And I hope I will have a better innings with the BJP."
Why does this story matter?
In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the BJP claimed two seats in Punjab-Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. Kaur's addition to the party could potentially enhance the BJP's chances of winning an extra seat in Punjab. In September 2022, Kaur's husband joined the BJP. Her daughter, Jai Inder Kaur, is also party of the saffron party. Amidst speculation about her candidacy in the Lok Sabha polls, Kaur has pledged to serve her constituency, state, and nation under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kaur likely to contest from Patiala
Kaur is anticipated to contest from Patiala, a seat she held from 1999 to 2014 and again from 2019 to the present. When questioned about her candidacy, she replied, "That depends on the BJP." In the 2019 parliamentary elections, she secured the Patiala seat by a margin of over 1.6 lakh votes, receiving 532,027 votes (45.17%). The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which holds power in Punjab, has nominated Balbir Singh for the Patiala seat.
Video: Kaur joins BJP in Delhi
Kaur accused of anti-party activities
Kaur's conflict with the Congress started in February after the party alleged that Kaur was "indulging in anti-party activities to help the BJP." Later in December, she created headlines when she voted in favor of expelling Trinamool Congress's Mahua Moitra from Lok Sabha on cash-for-query charges. The Patiala MP was the only opposition member on the ethics committee to vote for the expulsion of Moitra, who subsequently lost her membership of the House.
AAP releases names of 8 candidates for Punjab
Earlier in the day, the AAP released its first list of eight candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Punjab. As per the list, minister Meet Hayer will contest from Sangrur seat, which was previously represented by CM Bhagwant Mann. Gurmeet Singh GP will contest from Bathinda, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Amritsar, and Laljit Singh Bhullar from Khandoor Sahib.
