Batala former Congress MLA Ashwani Sekhri joins BJP

Chandigarh, July 16

In a setback to the Congress, a former Batala MLA Ashwani Sekhri today joined the BJP in Delhi. He is the third Hindu leader from the Punjab Congress to have joined the party, beginning with Sunil Jakhar and Sunder Sham Arora.

Third Hindu leader to join saffron party

Ashwani Sekhri is the third Hindu leader from the Punjab Congress to have joined the saffron party recently, beginning with former PCC chief Sunil Jakhar and Sunder Sham Arora.

Party insiders said it was a matter of concern for the party leadership that the BJP was eating into its minority vote bank ahead of the 2024 elections. With this in mind, the party leadership has supported the candidature of a Hindu face Mohit Mohindra for the post of the Punjab Youth Congress president. He is the son of senior Hindu leader Brahm Mohindra.

After the 2022 Assembly elections, Sekhri was among the leaders who were supporting former PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Earlier, Sekhri was in talks to join SAD but that did not happen.

Playing down the joining of Sekhri, PPCC chief Amrinder Raja Warring said the BJP had no base and cadre in Punjab. The party could not get anyone from own cadre to make Punjab BJP president.