Punjab Election 2022: CM Charanjit Channi's cousin Jaswinder Singh Dhaliwal joins BJP

As Punjab gears up for 2022 polls, Jaswinder Singh Dhaliwal, cousin brother of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday, January 11, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Chandigarh. 

Earlier in December 2021, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, BJP in-charge of the Assembly election in Punjab, had confirmed that the party will contest the polls in alliance with Captain Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress Party. The announcement was made after a meeting was held with the former Punjab chief minister in New Delhi.

"Captain Amarinder Singh, former Chief Minister of Punjab and founder of Punjab Lok Congress, visited Delhi residence today. His long political experience is reflected in his discussions. He is in favour of the people's interests in Punjab. We had a pleasant exchange of views in this regard," Shekhawat wrote in Hindi on his Twitter handle.

Responding to the same, Amarinder Singh had said, “We are ready and we are going to win this election. The decision on seat-sharing will be taken on the seat-to-seat basis, with winnability being the priority. We are 101% sure of winning this election."

Channi becomes the new CM of Punjab

On September 20, the 58-year-old Charanjit Singh Channi took oath as the 16th Chief Minister of Punjab, in the presence of Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh. The development comes after former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on September 24 submitted his resignation along with that of his Council of Ministers, to the state Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Speaking to the media, Amarinder Singh had said, "They called the MLAs to Delhi twice and are now convening Congress Legislative Party meeting here in Chandigarh today. This makes me feel that they have an element of doubt on me, that I wasn't able to run the government." He added, "It's better that they give the Chief Ministership to someone they trust."

Punjab Election 2022 

The Punjab Assembly Election 2022 will be held in a single phase on February 14 for 117 constituencies. The counting of votes will take place on March 10, 2022. The last date to file nominations will be January 28 and the nomination withdrawal date has been scheduled for January 31.

Image: ANI