Amarinder Singh announces alliance with BJP

Amarinder Singh today announced an alliance with the BJP for the Punjab election, a move that was widely predicted after he quit the Congress last month. The former Punjab Chief Minister made the announcement after meeting with the BJP leadership in Delhi."Our alliance (with BJP) is confirmed. Only seat-sharing talks are going on. We will see who will contest where - our criteria for seat selection is purely winnability," said Amarinder Singh.

A congress veteran, he was inducted into the Congress by Rajiv Gandhi, who was his friend from school and was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980. In 1984, he resigned from Parliament and from Congress as a protest against the Army action during Operation Blue Star. Subsequently, he joined the Shiromani Akali Dal was elected to the state legislature from Talwandi Sabo and became a minister in the state government for Agriculture, Forest, Development and Panchayats.