Senior Congress leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday. Speculations are rife that Amarinder could join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the next year's Assembly elections in Punjab. Earlier on Wednesday, Amarinder met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, triggering talks over his future move after resigning as CM.
Amarinder, however, said that he discussed the prolonged farmers' stir with Amit Shah at the latter's residence. After his meeting that lasted for about 45 minutes, Singh tweeted "met Union Home Minister Amit Shahji in Delhi. Discussed the prolonged farmers' agitation against farm laws and urged him to resolve the crisis urgently with the repeal of the laws and guarantee MSP.
However, the politically significant meeting, which came days after Singh resigned as CM after accusing the Congress of humiliating him, raised speculation over his future plans ahead of the polls in Punjab with some political analysts viewing it as an indication that Singh may be seeking the support of the BJP.
After the Singh-Shah meeting, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that Amit Shah's residence has become the centre of anti-Dalit politics. In a series of tweets in Hindi, he said, "The arrogance of the those sitting in power has been hurt. Because if a Dalit is made the Chief Minister, then they ask who is making the decisions in the Congress." "The centre of anti-Dalit politics is nowhere else but Amit Shah's residence," he alleged.
Singh's meeting with Shah has added another dimension in politics in Punjab where no party is being seen as a clear favourite in the polls, expected to be held early next year.
Amid speculation that the former chief minister may join hands with the BJP, a senior BJP leader told PTI that such a possibility cannot be ruled out.
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