Chandigarh: Former Punjab Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal’s sons Inder Iqbal Atwal and Jasjit Singh Atwal have joined the BJP on Sunday.
Earlier, he left the Akali Dal by forwarding a one-line resignation to President Sukhbir Singh Badal. Iqbal was a former Akali Dal MLA from Raikot in Ludhiana.
It is being told that Inder Atwal has joined BJP as he was disgruntled with Badal family. The Atwal family, which has been associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal since Independence, was sidelined in the party recently. Former Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal had been angry with the Badal family for many years.
Candidate for Jalandhar Lok Sabha by-election
The BJP is likely to field Charanjit Atwal’s son Inder Iqbal as its candidate for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha by-election. Atwal had lost the last Lok Sabha elections to a Congress candidate in Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency by a narrow margin. He reached the Lok Sabha by defeating Santokh Chaudhary by a huge margin.
Charanjit Singh Atwal, the only dalit leader of SAD, has also been the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.