Former Akali Dal leader Ravikaran Singh Kahlon joins BJP

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], May 17 (ANI): After being expelled from former Shiromani Akali Dal, Ravikaran Singh Kahlon joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in the presence of Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar.
Son of former Punjab Assembly speaker Nirmal Singh, Kahlon Ravikaran Kahlon joined the BJP on Thursday.
Notably, Ravikaran Singh Kahlon was the general secretary of Shiromani Akali Dal and was in charge of the Dera Baba Nanak assembly seat from where he lost the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls. He had also been appointed as the chairman of the Punjab Tubewell Corporation.
Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday expelled him from the primary membership of the party for being involved in "anti-party" activities and "backstabbing" the party.
Welcoming the SAD candidate for the 2022 assembly elections, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar and the party's national secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the exodus of leaders from other parties to the saffron fold highlights the palpable undercurrent in the favour of the BJP in Punjab.
On Thursday, Karan Warring, the former vice-chairman of Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) and officer on special duty (OSD) to Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh, also joined the BJP.
Notably in Punjab, voting for its 13 seats will take place in a single phase. The seventh and final phase on June 1 will see voting in Gurudaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, and Patiala constituencies.
The counting of votes will be held on June 4. (ANI)