Congress Crumbles as Navjot Singh Sidhu, 3 Congress MLAs Likely to Join BJP After Feb 22: Sources

New Delhi: Though an official confirmation is awaited, Republic TV sources have learnt that Congress might face another setback in the coming days as Navjot Singh Sidhu is expected to leave the grand old party. As per our sources, Sidhu along with 3 Congress MLAs may join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Feb 22. 

Sidhu is said to be upset with the party's high command as he hasn't been entrusted with any significant responsibilities, especially within the state (Punjab) unit.

The development comes at a time when there is a strong buzz about veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath, his son joining the BJP. While the father-son duo are yet to resign from the the party, Kamal Nath is said to be unhappy with what is happening with the Congress and feels that it isn't the same organisation that he had joined over four decades ago.

For the unversed, Sidhu had switched over to the Congress from the BJP before the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, saying he was a ‘born Congressman’, who came back to his roots. The cricketer-turned-politician had said he would be ready to work under anybody appointed by the high command and contest from where the party wanted him to.

Sidhu made his debut in first-class cricket in 1981-82 and later went on to earn the sobriquet of "sixer Sidhu" for his powerful stroke play.

In 2004, Sidhu began his political innings contesting the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket from Amritsar, where he shifted his base from Patiala, and in his first election defeated Congress heavyweight R L Bhatia.

When he was in the BJP, Sidhu had sour relations with the Badal family despite the SAD then being an ally of the BJP. Later his ties with BJP also turned cold when the party fielded senior leader Arun Jaitley from Amritsar in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Though he was accommodated in the Rajya Sabha later, he quit the party to join the Congress.