The Bahujan Samaj Party has suffered a major jolt ahead of the Municipal Corporation (MC) elections in Punjab, with the former state chief of its youth wing Amrik Bagri from Jalandhar joining the Punjab Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh here on Thursday morning.Amrik Bagri, who was also in charge of Jalandhar Cantt Assembly segment besides being ex General Secretary of the BSP, was inducted into the Congress along with other party leaders, Gagan Bajwa, Vivek Bagri, Monu Bagri, Paramjeet Bagri, Jatinder Kalsi, Kamal, Balwant Rai (NRI) and Monu Ghir and Jagroop Singh Dhesi.Welcoming Bagri and others into the party fold, Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder said it was a sign of the growing popularity of the Congress and the enormous faith reposed by the people in the Congress government’s citizen-centric policies and programmes. It was also an endorsement of the welfare schemes and development initiatives of the government, especially for the underprivileged sections of the society.
Coming as it does in the run-up to the MC elections, this showed that the people of Punjab had no faith in any of the other political parties in the state, said Captain Amarinder. He assured the newly inducted leaders that they would be given due respect and recognition in the Congress.Bagri lamented that the senior BSP leadership, due to its autocratic style of functioning and vested interests, had deliberately ignored and marginalised the rank and file of the party. The BSP was at the crossroads today and swiftly losing its popularity even with its own electorates due to its myopic vision, he said, alleging that the BSP had lost its base.The Congress, under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh, has already taken path breaking initiatives, which would definitely take Punjab to new heights of development and prosperity, said Bagri. He pledged that he and his colleagues would work relentlessly like disciplined soldiers to ensure overall development and prosperity in the state.Prominent amongst those present on the occasion were MLA Jalandhar Cantt Pargat Singh and OSD to Chief Minister, Ankit Bansal.