Amarinder Singh says BJP overlooks his experience on Punjab affairs

Former Punjab chief minister and BJP leader Amarinder Singh has criticised his party for not seeking his views on the state, saying his experience in Punjab politics was being overlooked ahead of the next Assembly election. Speaking to Aaj Tak, Singh said some BJP office-bearers responsible for Punjab’s affairs had been involved in state politics for less than a year. He said he and his colleagues had spent about six decades in the state’s electoral politics and expected the party to value their experience.

“My colleagues and I have spent sixty years in Punjab’s electoral politics. We have seen Punjab going through several turmoils,” Singh said. He described it as his responsibility as a BJP member to tell the party what he thought about Punjab.

Singh’s comments prompted speculation that he might return to the Congress, which he left in 2021 after a dispute and subsequently founded the Punjab Lok Congress. He later merged that party with the BJP in 2022. Asked about the possibility of changing parties, Singh said political affiliations could change but made clear that he was not considering leaving the BJP.

He cited his own earlier movement between the Congress and the Akali Dal, saying that past changes did not mean he would now quit his current party. Singh also addressed questions about his age. He said he was 84 and argued that age did not automatically mark the end of a political career, referring to former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

The source material records Singh as saying Desai was 92, without providing further detail. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who attended a book launch with Singh, said he wanted Singh to become Punjab chief minister again. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and former cricketers including Kapil Dev, Syed Kirmani and Madan Lal were also present.

Punjab’s 117-member Assembly is scheduled to face an election next year.