50 families in Punjab's Tarn Taran join AAP as rift deepens in Congress over hooch tragedy

In a major boost for Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab wing, 50 families joined Arvind Kejriwal-led party in Punjab's Khemkaran vill in Tarn Taran district on Friday. Taking to Twitter, AAP shared photos of garing, terming that families were leaving 'traditional parties' and joining AAP. AAP holds 19 seats in 80-member Punjab Assembly, ruled by Congress' Captain Amarinder Singh. 

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50 families join AAP Punjab

Amid rift with CM, Punjab minister claims Congress MP Bajwa 'failed to prove himself'

Rift in Punjab Congress

This move comes amid a rift in Punjab Congress over CM Capt. Amarinder Singh's response to hooch trdy which has claimed 121 lives till date. Congress MPs-  Pratap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo had demanded an “impartial and thorough” probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate into illegal liquor business in Punjab. MPs - who are also ex-party presidents in state -  alleged that it was failure of CM and that trdy could have been averted if Singh had acted in ir complaints. y have also questioned inaction against govt officials and police, who y allege were involved in illicit liquor business. 

In response, Punjab Congress wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi seeking disciplinary action against m. Moreover, on August 8, Punjab government withdrew state police security from Congress MP Pratap Singh Bajwa after an assessment, concluding that Bajwa had virtually threat perception and was w getting central security directly accorded by Union Home Ministry.  Punjab cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu too has claimed that MP had t 'proved himself' inspite of opportunities.

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AAP's 2017 Punjab campaign

In 2017, Congress which had roped in poll strategist Prashant Kishor for both Uttar Pradesh and Delhi Assembly was successful in electing Captain Amarinder Singh as CM, beating AAP by a wide margin. While AAP tried to pitch Kejriwal's development policies against Congress veteran, Singh cruised to an easy victory based on his 25-year-old political career. Incidentally, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal roped in Kishor for his re-election bid in 2020. Kejriwal won 2020 Assembly polls in Delhi by a landslide, winning 62 of 70 seats and being sworn-in to a fourth term as CM.

BIG: Prashant Kishor roped in by Kejriwal for his re-election bid in 2020, against BJP