In a jolt to the AAP, two leaders of its leaders, H S Walia and C D Singh Kamboj,  joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday, along with their supporters, ahead of the Shahkot Assembly bypoll scheduled to be held on May 28, PTI reports from Jalandhar

Both of them joined the SAD in the presence of party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Welcoming Kamboj into the party fold, Badal said the senior leader was known for his statesman-like conduct and strategic thinking, and with his joining, the SAD would be strengthened not only in Doaba belt, but also in the whole Punjab.

Kamboj had been the president of BSP's Punjab unit and had also contested elections twice from Shahkot on Congress tickets. He quit Congress and joined AAP in 2015 and was the party spokesperson, besides being the president of the Kamboj Mahasabha.

Walia said he was joining the SAD due to its "pro-people" policies as well as the party's desire to take all sections of society with it.