Cong MP Preneet Kaur seeks votes for husband Amarinder in BJP rally

Raising speculations of another desertion in the Congress camp, party MP wife of former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday attended a meeting of the BJP to seek votes for her husband in the state Assembly polls.

After being unceremoniously removed as the chief minister following a bitter tussle with Congress state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, Singh had quit the party and floated the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC).

In December last year, Singh, 79, announced his party’s alliance with the BJP for the upcoming assembly polls. The PLC, BJP and SAD (Sanyukt) are fighting the state polls in alliance.

Kaur, a Congress MP from Patiala on Saturday attended the BJP’s meeting at Patiala’s Sirhindi Gate, which had been organised for Singh.

The former chief minister is contesting the elections as a PLC nominee from his traditional seat Patiala (Urban).

“I have come to you to appeal for Amarinder Singh as your family member,” Kaur said, seeking votes for her husband.

The move by Preneet, who so far had been staying away from campaigning for the Congress, has raised speculations about her next political step. A few days ago, Congress nominee from Patiala (Urban) Vishnu Sharma had asked Kaur to either campaign for the party or resign.

“I am with my family. The family is above everything,” Kaur had said on Thursday when reporters asked her why she was “silent” during the elections.

The Congress had in November last year issued her a show-cause notice seeking an explanation from her for alleged “anti-party activities”. When asked about it, Kaur had told reporters on Thursday that she did not receive any such notice and had only read about it in newspapers and on social media. The notice should otherwise have come from the party general secretary, she had said.