I will always remain committed to BJP: Amarinder dismisses rumours of having met Sonia Gandhi

CHANDIGARH: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and two-time former Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday denied meeting Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and termed it as "baseless rumours." Singh said that the claims that are in circulation on social media are "baseless" and without an "iota of truth".

He asserted that he was committed to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Party President JP Nadda. "I have made up my mind forever and will always remain committed to the BJP. At such a stage, you don't look back", he said in a PRO release, adding that "it is the principle of my life that a decision once taken can never be taken back. Amarinder Singh left Congress a year ago and formed his own party, Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), which later merged with the BJP. Singh launched PLC in 2021 after long unresolved disputes with the state Congress unit.

His party contested the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election but failed to secure any seat in the state. Meanwhile, in Punjab, there is tension within the state Congress after the formation of the INDIA alliance with the Aam Adami Party as a member of the bloc.

The Opposition parties under the alliance are working towards contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections jointly with the AAP to take on the ruling BJP at the Centre.

However, some leaders of the Punjab Congress are weary of cooperation with the AAP in the state. Earlier this week, the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Pratap Singh Bajwa, said on X that the state's leaders were not willing to ally with AAP in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.