Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He also merged his party, the Punjab Lok Congress, with the BJP.
Captain Amarinder Singh met BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday, 19 September, and his entry is being seen as part of the BJP's plans to expand its footprint in Punjab, a state where it has been faring poorly.
There is also speculation regarding what Singh next assignment within the BJP is going to be. But more than that, Singh is entering the BJP with one specific mission. What is that mission? We'll get to that later in this article.
Why Is This Important?
Captain Amarinder Singh has been a two-term chief minister of Punjab: from 2002 to 2007 and from 2017 to 2021.
He was instrumental in reviving the Congress in the state in the early 2000s after the party had become discredited due to the human rights abuses that had taken place under them in the 1980s and 1990s.
His act of resigning in protest against Operation Blue Star in 1984 gave him a great deal of goodwill among the Sikhs.
So when he rejoined the Congress and merged his Akali Dal (Panthic) with the party, it helped give the Congress a new appeal and restore its credibility among Sikhs to some extent.
In his tenure as CM between 2002 and 2007, he had taken a tough stand for Punjab on the Sutlej-Yamuna canal issue.
The BJP would hope that his entry helps it expand in the state, though the former CM's appeal isn't what it used to be.
What Led to This?
Captain Amarinder Singh's second term as the CM, which began in 2017, was lacklustre and he was accused of ignoring the governance issues of the state. This eventually led to his removal in 2021 barely six months before the elections.
Upset by his unceremonious removal, he left the Congress and formed the Punjab Lok Congress, which contested the 2022 Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP.
But the elections were a disaster for the alliance. The BJP could win just one seat and the PLC failed to open its account.
Captain Amarinder Singh's PLC contested 28 seats and lost deposits on 27 of those seats. Its overall vote share was just 0.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent in the seats it contested. The former CM lost from his own bastion – Patiala.
Perhaps it may have become clear to Singh that his small party wouldn't be able to survive on its own and that it is best to merge into the BJP. Even in the 1990s, his party didn't achieve much politically and he merged into the Congress then.
Sources in the BJP said that the formation of the PLC itself was a temporary measure and that a merger into the BJP was always on the cards.
What Happens Next?
For Captain: There is speculation that Captain Amarinder Singh could be given a gubernatorial assignment or another important position by the BJP. However, more than that, he is trying to achieve two aims by joining the BJP.
This seems to be his way of taking revenge against his previous party, the Congress. His entry is likely to be followed by the defection of more leaders from the Congress to the BJP. A number of leaders like Sunil Jakhar, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, and Fatehjang Singh Bajwa have already joined the BJP. More are likely to follow.
Apparently he wants to secure the political future of his family, especially his daughter Jai Inder Kaur, who has been taking care of his constituency. His son Raninder Singh is also a politician. Grandson Nirvan Singh also worked in his campaign.
For the BJP: The BJP's aim is to replace the Congress as the main opposition force in Punjab.
Given the Shiromani Akali Dal's unique identity as a party representing Sikh interests, there are limits to which the BJP can fill that space despite the SAD's weakening.
The best the BJP can hope for is that the Akali Dal weakens or splinters further and some of the factions align with it as they have done in the past.
Therefore, the party believes that it is the Congress' space that it can seek to occupy more effectively.
Who Loses, Who Gains?
Losers
The biggest loser in this development would be the Congress. The party's biggest face – Captain Amarinder Singh – leaving and forming a small splinter outfit was still much less harmful than him joining its main national rival.
The Congress could see the defection of more leaders and cadres in the coming months.
Another party that may indirectly be harmed by this is the SAD (Badal). The Badals benefited immensely from the duopoly that existed between them and the Congress in Punjab. The end of this duopoly harms them as well.
Eventually, they may be forced to go back to an alliance with the BJP, that too on terms dictated by the latter.
Gainers
The BJP, no doubt, is a big gainer in this having secured its biggest yet political entrant from Punjab. But there are limits to their gains as Captain Amarinder Singh is way past his prime and has lost a great deal of his political base in Punjab.
If the Congress weakens, it is good news for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab as it would then be the only party that secures sizable votes from all sections of Punjabi society.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)