Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Manjinder Singh Sirsa joined the BJP on Wednesday in the presence of Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Shekhawat, who is the BJP’s in-charge for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls, said Sirsa’s induction into the party will definitely be helpful for it in the state elections, expected to be held early next year.
Sirsa has been a prominent face of the Akali Dal in the national capital and was a strong supporter of the farmers’ protests against the three contentious farm laws.
Parliament recently passed a bill to annul the three laws in what has been seen as the BJP’s effort to placate the protesting farmers, a large number of whom are Sikhs from Punjab.
Pradhan said the BJP will be strengthened with Sirsa’s induction and added that he had quit his position in the DSGMC before joining the party.