More Trouble For Congress In Punjab: Manpreet Badal Joins BJP

Penning a letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, former finance minister of Punjab, Manpreet Singh Badal tendered his resignation from the party.

Since Sunil Jakhar’s exit from the party last year, to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), there has been a steady exodus of leaders from the Congress, leaving the state unit in shambles. 

With Badal all set to join the BJP, the party, which has not had much success in the state, will be looking to put together an alliance of leaders before the big election of 2024. 

In his letter, Badal, nephew of Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Parkash Singh Badal, stated that he had inherited the state when it was on the verge of financial collapse.

He further added that the decision before him was to choose between fiscal discipline through difficult decisions or populist measures that would worsen the state’s financial situation. 

Manpreet Singh Badal, in his letter, claimed that he had, single-handedly, got more than Rs 50,000 crore for the state exchequer, but he was ridiculed within the state unit for not ushering populist measures.

He also hinted at the control of the state unit from Delhi, and without naming Navjot Singh Sidhu or Charanjit Singh Channi, blamed them for the downfall of the party in the state. 

Manpreet Singh Badal’s exit from the party further adds to the concerns of Congress. In 2019, courtesy of Captain Amarinder Singh who is now a part of the BJP, the party managed to secure the majority of the seats in the state.

In the recent state assembly elections of 2022, Congress was reduced to 18 seats with a 22 per cent vote share.