Punjab: Thandal joins BJP, gets ticket

Punjab: The Shiromani Akali Dal has lost another big wicket as its former minister and four-time MLA Sohan Singh Thandal joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) this afternoon. In the evening, the BJP declared him its candidate for the Chabbewal (reserved) assembly by-election. Nomination papers for the by-election to be held on November 13 are to be filed by October 25. After joining the saffron party in the presence of Punjab in-charge Vijay Rupani, former Union Minister of State Som Prakash, former MPs Sushil Rinku and Shwet Malik, former minister Tikshan Sood, former MLA Sheetal Angural and general secretary Parminder Brar, Thandal said that though he has joined the BJP, he has no grudges against the SAD or the Badal family. Thandal, who has the image of an old ‘Taksali’ Akali leader in the area, first became an MLA from Mahilpur and then from Chabbewal. He has also been a minister and Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) in Akali governments. He faced defeat in the 2017 and 2022 assembly elections from Dr Raj Kumar of Congress.