Shahkot bypoll: Two AAP leaders join SAD

JALANDHAR: With a week to go for the May 28 Shahkot assembly bypoll, two leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) at separate functions here on Sunday.
While H S Walia joined the party at his home in Jalandhar in the presence of SAD president Sukhbir Badal, Col C D Kamboj (retd) was inducted into the party at a function in Nakodar later in the day.
This will be the fourth party for Col Kamboj. He had earlier served as the state president of Bahujan Samaj Party, and later joined the Congress. Col Kamboj contested the 2007 and 2012 assembly polls from Shahkot for the Congress, but lost both times.
Walia was the AAP candidate in the last assembly elections from the Jalandhar Cantonment constituency. Walia remained close to Delhi leaders of the AAP. For giving him ticket, party high command had ignored prominent contenders, like Indian Hockey’s ‘golden girl’ Rajbir Kaur, former international hockey player Jagdeep Gill and journalist Major Singh.
Kamboj had started his political career by joining the BSP and was made the state president by party founder Kanshi Ram. He was still the BSP state president when he switched over to Congress.
When he left the Congress for the AAP in November 2015, Col Kamboj had said the Congress had failed to emerge as an alternative to the SAD. He had said that the AAP was the only hope for the people of Punjab.