In a major setback to the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal Manpreet Kaur Dolly, the daughter of late Akali stalwart Capt Kanwaljit Singh joined the Congress today in presence of the Punjab Congress President Capt Amarinder Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs Ms Perneet Kaur and Congress Legislative Party leader Sunil Jakhar, alongwith hundreds of her supporters and Akali workers.Welcoming her into the Congress Capt Amarinder and Ms Perneet Kaur said, Ms Dolly had actually inherited the political legacy of her late father Capt Kanwaljit who was a mass leader in his area and a seasoned Akali politician. They said, she had great future in the Congress as she was well qualified, competent and hardworking.Mr Perneet Kaur pointed out, she had contested the last assembly election as an independent candidate from Dera Bassi assembly segment and got over ten thousand votes which was no small achievement.Talking to reporters, Ms Dolly said, she liked and respected the policies of the Congress and had made her mind to join the party long time back. She said, the Congress worked in a democratic manner and recognised and acknowledged the contribution of the women in particular. She said, she was feeling glad to have joined the party in presence of Capt Amarinder and Ms Perneet Kaur.
Assuring the party leadership that she will work hard and come up best to their expectations, Ms Dolly said, she will ensure that Ms Perneet Kaur, who is also the local member parliament, will win with a huge margin from the Dera Bassi assembly segment.However, Ms Dolly did not compromise and wanted to retain the area as her father had worked hard and represented Banur, rechristened later as Dera Bassi in the delimitation, three times. Since the family didn’t get the nomination, she decided to contest independently and lost. Her joining the Congress will certainly cause substantial damage to the Akali Dal in the area as late Capt Kanwaljit commanded extensive support in the area. Senior party leaders and MLAs including Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Arvind Khanna, Rana KP Singh, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Chiranji Lal Garg and others were also present on the occasion.