Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh formally joined the BJP on Monday at the party headquarters here in presence of Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju.
On the occasion, Captain Amarinder Singh also merged his party Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with BJP.
Earlier in the day, the former chief minister met BJP chief JP Nadda in the National Capital.
Talking to reporters at the BJP headquarters, he said he was grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP president.
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju hailed Amarinder Singh joining the party and said right-thinking people of the country should be united.
“A sensitive state like Punjab should be handled carefully. During his tenure as Chief Minister, he never kept politics before national security,” Rijiju said.
The former Punjab Chief Minister made the announcement of joining the BJP after meeting with the Union Home Minister on 12 September in the National Capital.
Amarinder Singh served Congress for long years and resigned as Chief Minister in September last year ahead of assembly polls. He later also resigned from the Congress and formed Punjab Lok Congress which tied up with BJP and SAD (Sanyukt) for the assembly polls held early this year.
Amarinder Singh’s joining the BJP is a big shot in the arm for the saffron party in the border state. The BJP now has a credible Sikh face in Punjab who has been active in state politics for several decades.