Haryana CM offered BJP ticket from Sangrur: AAP MLA

Chandigarh: Narinder Kaur Bharaj, AAP MLA from Sangrur, alleged on Thursday that Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini offered her a BJP ticket for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections and sought a meeting to discuss his party's strategy.Bharaj said she refused the offer, reiterating her commitment to the AAP. Speaking to the media, the Sangrur MLA said, "The BJP is running ‘Operation Lotus' across the country to topple elected govts. A few days ago, Saini tried to contact me for a closed-door meeting. He tempted me with a BJP ticket from Sangrur, stating that any demand I made would be fulfilled." When asked how the contact was made, Bharaj explained she was approached via a prominent person in Sangrur. "He proposed that I join the saffron party with my supporters to contest on a BJP ticket. The BJP is desperate for candidates in every Punjab constituency, but I had the distinction of becoming AAP's first woman polling agent in 2014 and I will not leave the party," she said. Bharaj, who became the state's youngest MLA at 27, added, "I joined the party in 2014 at age 19, inspired by the policies of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. I am a worker who once put up posters for the party. Only the AAP would give a small farmer's daughter the honour of becoming an MLA." Criticising the Haryana CM, Bharaj remarked, "The way Saini Sahib has been roaming the streets of Punjab lately, it seems the BJP has sent him on deputation. My advice to him is to stop worrying about me or Punjab and focus on Haryana. The people of Punjab and AAP MLAs stand like a rock with CM Mann and Kejriwal." She further emphasised that the party remains unified. "We entered politics to change the system and provide health and education, not to indulge in horse-trading. We are fully prepared for the 2027 elections, and these cheap tactics will not shake us." Meanwhile, AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu said, "The BJP is once again unsuccessfully trying to crush democracy in Punjab through ‘Operation Lotus.' This is not the first time they have tried to buy AAP MLAs, but they forget that Punjabis value their honour." Pannu added, "Saini should keep his ‘Haryana Model,' where people suffer under expensive electricity. Punjab follows the AAP model, offering free electricity and the Sadak Suraksha Force (SSF)—facilities non-existent in his failed model." The AAP has frequently alleged that the BJP attempted to destabilise its govts in Punjab and Delhi. In Sept 2022, the party claimed BJP agents offered at least 10 Punjab MLAs Rs 25 crore each to switch sides. Those allegations led to an FIR by the Punjab Police and a subsequent confidence motion in the state assembly to demonstrate party unity. MSID:: 128259300 413 |