Former Punjab MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy joins AAP

Chandigarh, May 1 (PTI) Former Congress MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy, who had quit the party over denial of ticket from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, on Wednesday joined the AAP.

While welcoming Goldy into the party fold, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann referred to him as his “younger brother” and a “hardworking youth”.

“We welcome him along with his supporters,” he said.

Goldy worked a lot and became an MLA but he was ignored by the Congress, Mann, who was flanked by AAP candidate from Sangrur seat Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, said.

“I welcome him (Goldy) as my younger brother in the family,” Mann said, adding the party will be further strengthened by his joining.

Goldy, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 assembly polls from Dhuri seat against Mann, said he will perform whatever task is assigned to him.

To a question, Goldy said he was kind of thrown out of the party. He said though he worked hard, the party gave the ticket to someone else.

In his resignation letter to the Congress’ Punjab chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Goldy has said he was “upset” with the state leadership and resigning from the party’s primary membership.

The Congress had named three-time MLA Sukhpal Khaira from the Sangrur parliamentary seat.

Mann trashed Congress leader Khaira’s allegations that Goldy was threatened with action from the Vigilance Bureau to join the AAP,

“Who pressurised him (Khaira) to switch parties many times. He has no right to make such allegations. It is the BJP which could use central agencies like ED against political opponents,” he said.

On April 16, Goldy had expressed his “displeasure” over denial of the party ticket from Sangrur Lok Sabha seat and had urged the party high command not to “betray anyone”.

The former MLA had said that the party had made a “commitment” to him during the 2022 Sangrur bypoll that he would be fielded in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.