Anil Joshi joined the Congress on Wednesday within the presence of senior leaders together with Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.
Former Punjab Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) minister and two-time MLA from Amritsar North, Anil Joshi, joined the Congress on Wednesday. Identified for his affect in Amritsar and previous stints within the BJP and Akali Dal, Joshi’s return to lively politics through the Congress appears to reshape future electoral contests. Joshi joined the Congress on Wednesday within the presence of senior leaders together with Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.
The transfer got here after a current assembly with Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal in Delhi. “Given the present circumstances, I imagine solely the Congress can lead Punjab towards improvement,” Joshi mentioned on the occasion, thanking the social gathering for giving him a possibility to contribute.
A gamechanger for Congress?
Anil Joshi’s significance lies not solely in his ministerial expertise, having held portfolios like Native Our bodies and Medical Training but additionally in his electoral weight, the place he was elected MLA twice (2007, 2012) on a BJP ticket. Within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Amritsar seat was received by Congress candidate Gurjeet Singh Aujla with simply 28.18% votes, defeating AAP’s Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (23.73%).
Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the BJP’s candidate stood third with 22.88%, whereas Anil Joshi, contesting on a SAD ticket, drew away a big 18% of votes. Had Joshi not been within the fray, Sandhu would possible have received.
Anil Joshi’s political journey: From BJP to SAD to Congress
Joshi was expelled from the BJP in 2021 after criticising the Centre over the dealing with of the farmers’ protest. He then joined the Shiromani Akali Dal, solely to resign in November 2023 after his Lok Sabha loss.Surprisingly, in June 2024, he rejoined SAD briefly within the presence of Sukhbir Singh Badal, earlier than making a decisive change to the Congress simply three months later.
Punjab Congress leaders had been fast to hail Joshi’s induction. “He has a giant identify in Punjab, and I welcome him,” mentioned social gathering chief Raja Warring. Senior leaders together with Partap Singh Bajwa, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, and Gurjeet Singh Aujla had been current, signalling inside unity behind the transfer.