'Dejected', Vipan Sood deserts Akali Dal to return to saffron fold

Ludhiana: Within a couple of days after the the SAD announced to field Ranjit Singh Dhillon from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, Vipan Sood ‘Kaka’, who was touted as the top contender for the Akali Dal’s ticket, on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

He returned to his parent party in the presence of BJP’s state president Sunil Jakhar and other leaders in Chandigarh.

Sood had in 2017 quit the saffron party after being denied a ticket for the assembly elections and joined the Lok Insaaf Party to contest from the Ludhiana Central segment, only to be trounced by Congress’ Surinder Dawar and BJP’s Gurdev Sharma Debi.

He then joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in 2018 and had expressed his interest in contesting the 2022 assembly elections, but was again sidelined.

He also came under the income-tax department’s scrutiny after which, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had assured him a ticket.

Notably, party’s senior leaders had expressed doubt over his winnability quotient and ability to garner Sikh votes in the constituency. Party insiders had been feeling that he may not be the “right choice”.

Senior leaders claimed that at a time when the BJP had fielded Ravneet Bittu and the Congress was mulling over names of veteran Bharat Bhushan Ashu and other former MLAs, giving a chance to a Sikh face might help the party win Sikh votes in the rural belt and woo voters in the urban areas as well.

SAD’s senior leaders were doubtful of Sood’s success and had raised concerns over the party’s chances in the municipal elections in case he failed to muster votes.

While some said that Sood had himself refused to contest the election, his public meetings ahead of the ticket allotment belied those claims.

On the development, BJP’s district president Rajnish Dhiman said, “Our family is expanding and more people are associating with it after getting impressed by the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Meanwhile, SAD candidate Ranjit Dhillon claimed to be unaware of Sood’s decision to join the BJP.

Can’t say why he joined the BJP: SAD’s Dhillon

“I was busy campaigning in Jagraon since morning and just came to know about the development. I cannot say anything on why he joined the BJP, but he had been refraining from taking part in the party activities lately,” he added.

Despite repeated attempts, comments of Sood could not be elicited.

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