The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gained more strength before the Barnala assembly by-election. AAP gave a major blow to the BJP. Dheeraj Kumar Dadahur, a prominent leader of the BJP and its candidate in the 2022 assembly elections from Barnala, joined AAP on Monday.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann formally inducted him into the party and welcomed him. Dadahur has been with the BJP for 26 years and has been associated with the RSS since 1988.
He also served as the district president of the BJP in Barnala. A respected trader and rice miller, Dadahur was the elected president of the Barnala Arhtiya Association and has been in charge of several assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Punjab for the BJP.
Apart from Dheeraj Dadahur, BJP councillor Neeraj and former councillor Saroj Rani also joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Additionally, Rinka Bahmnian, the national president of the Valmiki community, and Gurnam Singh Waheguru, a leader from the Akali Dal (Badal), with several others, also joined the party.
On this occasion, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said in a statement issued from the party office that Dadahur's entry into the party has strengthened AAP in Barnala district.
He expressed confidence that they would work together for the betterment of Punjab and its development, claiming that AAP's candidate is set to win in Barnala by a large margin.