In a surprise move, BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned from Rajya Sabha on 18 July amid rising speculation that he could join Aam Aadmi Party. The resignation of 52-year-old Sidhu, who was nominated on 22 April, has been accepted by Chairman Hamid Ansari with immediate effect.
While he was not available for comments, there is talk of Sidhu joining the AAP ahead of Punjab Assembly elections and he may be made the party’s face in the state. Sidhu did not answer calls made to him. Sources close to Sidhu were tight-lipped about the future move of the cricketer-turned-politician.
Gurdeep Sappal, OSD to the RS Chairman confirmed the resignation in a tweet.
Sources said that Sidhu has been miffed with the party over the treatment meted out to him ever since he was made to make way for Arun Jaitley in Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Sidhu called working for the BJP a “burden” and added:
The people of Punjab are looking for a change. With the closure of every window leading to Punjab, the purpose stands defeated, now a mere burden. I prefer not to carry it. In the war of right or wrong, you can’t afford to be neutral rather than being self-centred. Punjab’s interest is paramount.Navjot Singh Sidhu
His wife Navjot Kaur, who is Chief Parliamentary Secretary in Punjab where BJP shares power with Akali Dal, had created a flutter on 1 April by announcing her resignation from the BJP.
“The burden is over,” she wrote in a Facebook post on 1 April but, after a meeting with top BJP leaders in Delhi, she said, “All is well” and she is very much a part of BJP in Punjab.
Both Sidhu and his wife share an uneasy relationship with the Akali leadership. With speculation rife over the issue, the AAP said in Chandigarh that it would welcome Sidhu with open arms if he joins the party.
“If he joins our party, we will welcome him with open arms,” AAP’s Sangrur MP, Bhagwant Mann, who is also party’s campaign committee chairman, said. When asked if Sidhu has approached AAP or vice versa, Mann said that is not the case so far. “He has not got in touch with us nor have we got in touch with him,” he said.
According to reports, Sidhu is likely to head AAP’s election campaign in Punjab’s upcoming polls.
(With inputs from PTI)
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