Ludhiana West bypoll: Jaspreet Hobby and supporters leave Akali Dal and join BJP.
Ludhiana:
's former senior vice-president Jaspreet Singh Hobby joined the
(BJP) on Tuesday, delivering a fresh jolt to the SAD ahead of the Ludhiana West byelection coming up on June 19.
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Hobby, a former spokesperson for SAD, was inducted into the BJP in the presence of former Gujarat chief minister and BJP's Punjab political affairs in-charge
, former state party president Avinash Rai Khanna, state general secretary Anil Sareen, and BJP member Parminder Singh Brar. District BJP president Rajnesh Dhiman chaired the ceremony at the party's district office.
Gurinder Singh Goji, Gurmeet Singh Sarna, Jaswinder Singh Vicky, Jobanpreet Singh Khaira, and nine other local SAD members joined Hobby in pledging support to the BJP.
Rupani said Hobby's induction was part of a wider trend of embracing BJP's "people-centric policies" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He expressed confidence that the BJP would secure a decisive win in the Ludhiana West byelection.
Speaking after joining the BJP, Hobby cited India's development under Modi as a key reason for switching parties, saying Punjab had fallen behind while BJP-ruled states had surged ahead.
"I have joined to support Modi-ji's vision of all-round development. I urge the people to strengthen the BJP with their vote," he said. BJP's district general secretary Yashpal Janotra, district vice-president Naval Jain, secretary Sumit Tandon, press secretary Satish Kumar, and Rakesh Miglani also attended the event.
Later in the day, Rupani held a strategy meeting with party general secretaries to review preparations for the upcoming byelection. The team said the mood in Ludhiana West was "enthusiastic and confident", and appealed to voters to support BJP candidate Jiwan Gupta. It claimed that under Modi's leadership, India had made rapid strides in infrastructure, innovation, security, and self-reliance, and reaffirmed the BJP's commitment to development and clean governance.
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