Captain Amarinder Singh meets Amit Shah ahead of Punjab polls, seat-sharing talk likely

Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday arrived at Union home minister Amit Shah’s residence in New Delhi for a key meeting ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Punjab.

According to officials familiar with the matter, cited by the PTI news agency, the ex-chief minister of Punjab is also likely to meet Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda later in the day amid speculation over a possible seat-sharing arrangement between Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) and the BJP.

Amarinder Singh, who founded the Punjab Lok Congress following a split with the Congress and him quitting the post of the chief minister, has indicated an intention to contest all 117 seats in the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.

However, he confirmed two weeks ago the decision to form an alliance with the BJP and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) has been taken in principle and that the seat adjustment will be announced soon.

It is being speculated in the political quarters that Captain Amarinder Singh’s meeting with Amit Shah is likely to further take forward the talks of a possible seat-sharing arrangement. They may also explore a broad understanding of other issues.

Elections to the 117-member Punjab assembly are scheduled to be held early next year, either in February or March, according to those familiar with the matter. The term of the current assembly elected in 2017 will expire on March 27, 2022, unless dissolved earlier.

In the 2017 Punjab assembly election, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after ten long years.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in the 117-member Punjab legislative assembly.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could only manage to win 15 seats while the BJP secured 3 seats.