LUDHIANA, Punjab—Various media sources are making speculations that former leaders of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and incumbent MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh are likely to join Hindu right wing party Bhartya Janta Party (BJP).
Simarjit Singh Bains is MLA from Atam Nagar (Ludhiana) and Balwinder Singh Bains is from Ludhiana south assembly segments. Simarjit Bains had also contested Lok Sabha elections-2014 from Ludhiana constituency unsuccessfully but succeeded in securing a sizeable share of votes.
Previously, the duo remained members of Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). After being denied from MLA ticket in Punjab assembly election-2012, they resigned from SAD (B) and contested the elections independently on the segments mentioned above successfully. Still, after the result, they extended their external support to the SAD-BJP government. They were aspirants of SAD (B) seat during Lok Sabha polls-2014, but the party refused to do so following which they alienated themselves from SAD (B) completely and contested the Lok Sabha elections independently as well.
Simarjit Singh himself admitted that they received offers to get into the fold of BJP. Reliable sources said that a meeting was held between the Bains brothers and senior BJP leaders in this regard, but a consensus is yet to be settled.
On being contacted, Simarjit Bains said though BJP was making offers to him, but he was not interested in indulging in such kind of political process.
However, the speculations receive strength with the fact that during the election campaign of Lok Sabha elections-2014, Simarjit Bains had announced to give support to Narendra Modi if he would win the elections. In an interview given to English daily newspaper Daily Post, he appreciated Modi a lot.
