Another setback to AAP in Punjab, MLA joins Congress

Chandigarh, May 4 (IANS) In another setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, its sitting Roopnagar legislator Amarjit Singh Sandoya on Saturday joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Earlier, AAP Mansa legislator Nazar Singh Manshahia joined the party on April 29.

Welcoming Sandoya, Amarinder Singh said the Congress had got a major boost as a result of a wave of migrations from members of various opposition parties in the state -- "a clear endorsement of his government's path-breaking initiatives over the past two years".

The Chief Minister said AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's autocratic style of functioning and chaos in the state wing of the party were making AAP legislators feel suffocated, prompting them to shift to the Congress.

Sandoya said he was feeling disenchanted in the AAP due to the top leadership's high-handed approach towards Punjab.

Sandoya's joining would further bolster the Congress prospects in Roopnagar, where Manisha Tewari was already making waves as the party's candidate for the Lok Sabha seat, the Chief Minister added.

Exhorting Sandoya to put in his best for the parliamentary election in the state, Amarinder Singh asked him to help Tewari at the grassroots level in the constituency.

The Chief Minister said the mood in the state was clearly in favour of the Congress and its Mission 13 (total seats in Punjab), which would translate into a sweeping win for the party.

The faction-ridden AAP is now struggling to save its sinking ship with several leaders either quitting or having been suspended in the last four years.

In the February 2017 Assembly elections, the AAP finished second as the main opposition party with 20 legislators in the Congress-ruled 117-member Assembly.

Of the 20 legislators, eight have defected.

Punjab will vote on May 19.