Ex-Congressman Lalli Majithia joins AAP ahead of Punjab Assembly elections

Chandigarh: In a surprising turnout of events, former Congress leader Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli Majithia, who had resigned as Chairman, Punjab State Grains Procurement Corporation Limited (Pungrain) in the recent past joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday in presence of Aam Adami Party AAP’s national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Lalli Majithia had consecutively lost the last three assembly elections against senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia from the Majitha assembly constituency. On Saturday AAP leadership indicated at fielding Lalli Majithia from Majitha assembly constituency.

In 2007 Congress party had fielded Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli Majithia as party candidate from Majitha who was polled 28682 votes while in the 2012 elections he contested as an independent candidate and was polled only 26363 votes.

Again in 2017 assembly elections, Congress fielded  Lalli Majihia from Majitha assembly constituency and he has polled 42919 votes yet he lost to SAD(B) candidate Bikram Singh Majithia with a margin of 22884 votes.

It was during the tenure of Captain Amarinder Singh as chief minister of Punjab when he had appointed Lalli Majithia as Chairman Pungrain. After Lalli Majithia's resignation from Pungrain, it was believed that he could join Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress party but he chose AAP over PLC.

While talking to Zee News after joining AAP, Lalli Majithia said he felt suffocated in the Congress and was dismayed over the party’s alleged failure in delivering justice in the cases of sacrilege in Punjab and eradication of drugs promised in Congress party’s manifesto. Besides, Lalli Majithia also expressed resentment on the internal bickering within the Congress party.

Senior Congress party sources here informed that party high command had given go-ahead to Amritsar  District Congress Committee (DCC), Rural, president Bhagwantpal Singh Sachar, a confidant of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Navjot Singh Sidhu, to contest the 2022 assembly elections from Majitha assembly constituency which had irked the Lalli Majithia most.

Lalli’s exit from Congress and joining of AAP is seen as one of the major losses to the Congress party especially after the party’s two sitting MLA’MLA’s Fatehjang Singh Bajwa and Balwinder Singh Laddi from Qadian and Sri Hargobindpur assembly constituencies respectively left Congress to join BJP in the recent past.

While terming the leaving  of Congress to join AAP as a betrayal to the party, Sachhar said that despite losing twice from Majitha with a big margin, the Congress party appointed Lalli Majithia as Chairman, Pungrain and he in return had allegedly backstabbed the party by leaving the party  ahead of assembly  elections.