Author(s):
City Air News
Former legislator Ajit Singh Shant joins the SAD in the presence of SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal at Moga on Monday.
Chandigarh, August 5, 2013: The Punjab Congress today suffered a major setback in the Malwa region and particularly in Faridkot parliamentary constituency with one of the most senior dalit leaders of the region and former legislator Ajit Singh Shant crossing over to the SAD in the presence of SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal here.
Shant, who had narrowly lost the last assembly election from Nihalsinghwala by around 600 votes, was the firm Congress favourite for allocation of the party ticket from the Farikdot parliamentary constituency. He was presently functioning as the Congress constituency incharge for Nihalsinghwala.
Welcoming Shant into the SAD fold alongwith a number of Zila Parishad, Block Samiti and Panchayat Samiti members of the Congress, Sukhbir Singh Badal said this was the beginning of the exodus of a number of senior leaders from the Congress. He also announced that few more senior Congress leaders would leave the party in the next few days.
The SAD President, who was accompanied by Youth Akali Dal (YAD) president and Revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia, said Congress leaders were ready to leave their parent party because they were filled with despondency at the manner in which the party was self destructing and losing all credibility in the eyes of the people.
Shant on his part said he was quitting the party in disgust making it clear that he did not fit into the five start culture represented by Punjab Pradesh Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa. He said it was an irony that Congress leaders from Punjab who could not win a village level election were given weightage by the Congress high command in Delhi while sincere workers like him who had risen from the ranks and proved their worth were ignored. He said his name was considered for allocation of party ticket from Faridkot parliamentary seat in 2009 but he was denied the party nomination simply on the ground that he was not a money bag.
Shant even made a parting shot at his parent party, saying he was surprised that former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh was honoured with the post of CM and President of Congress party till he remained inaccessible to the people but the moment he starting working as ordinary worker during the Moga by election he was dethroned by the five star lobby in the party.
Bikram Singh Majithia while welcoming Shaant in the SAD fold said chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal always recognised the services of sincere and hard working workers. He said Shaant had his roots in SAD as his father Jathedar Gurdev Singh Shaant, former MLA and Vice President of the SGPC, was a committed Akali leader and had even participated in agitations against the Congress to safeguard the democratic values of the country.
Others present on the occasion included senior leader Tota Singh, Nihalsinghwala legislator Rajwinder Kaur and Baghapura mla Maheshinder Singh.
Date:
Monday, August 5, 2013