BJP reaches out to Sidhu for Punjab elections

Ahead of Punjab Assembly polls due next year, the BJP has reached out to sulking cricketer-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu to get its most visible and popular face on board for adding teeth to the electoral strategy.

BJP leaders sought to placate Sidhu owing to lack of credible face in the party to face Assembly polls. The former Indian opening batsman had virtually withdrawn himself from state politics but for addressing rallies outside and took up whole time television anchoring ever since he was replaced with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as the candidate to contest 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar. Jaitley had lost the polls with big margin to Congress leader Captain Amrinder SIngh. 

Though the party leaders have interacted with former MP Sidhu, who represented Amritsar three times in a row from 2004, owing to fear that he might cross over to the Aam Admi Party. One of the reasons for Sidhu being circumspect was that he does not have good equations with Akali Dal’s top leadership and harbours impression that the coalition partner have been out to stifle his political career.

He is believed to be bargaining hard with the BJP and put forth a condition that he would actively participate in Assembly elections only if it reconsiders ties with the SAD.