Amarinder Singh meets JP Nadda in Delhi ahead of Punjab Lok Congress-BJP merger today

Former Chief Minister and Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) president Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday, September 19, met the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda in New Delhi ahead of the PLC-BJP merger today.

Amarinder Singh, who left the Congress party, is set to merge his newly-formed party with the BJP along with former Congress MLAs and other leaders who had joined the PLC. Singh is also expected to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah after his meeting with JP Nadda. Following this, the former Punjab CM will merge his party with the BJP in the national capital in the presence of Nadda. Later, other office bearers and district presidents of the PLC will join the saffron party in a separate event in Chandigarh next week. 

Notably, Amarinder Singh floated PLC last year after quitting Congress following his unceremonious exit as chief minister. Singh, who recently returned from London following spinal surgery, held meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

BJP-PLC merger

Notably, in his recent meeting with the Union Home Minister on September 12, Singh reportedly had a productive conversation with Amit Shah on several topics, including national security, the uptick in narco-terrorism in Punjab, and the future direction of the state's holistic development. According to senior Punjab BJP leader Harjit Singh Grewal, Amarinder Singh had conveyed his desire to merge his party with the BJP before leaving for London. 

The two-time former chief minister is the scion of the erstwhile Patiala royal family. He quit Congress and was replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi last year. Notably, months after Captain's exit Congress was routed in the Assembly polls in February with Channi losing both the seats he contested.