Amarinder Singh to launch his own party before Punjab polls, may ally with BJP: Report

A month after his unceremonious resignation from the Congress party, ex-Chief of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh announced his intention to launch his own political organisation, according to media reports.

In an interview with The Print, the former Congress leader, who resigned due to "continuous humiliation," claimed his party is likely to establish a pre-poll coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Aside from that, he is trying to form an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) splinter groups, particularly the Dhindsa and Brahmpura factions, before the Punjab elections early next year. 

Captain Amarinder Singh, a well regarded and popular leader, single-handedly revived the Congress in Punjab after 10 years, defeating the SAD-BJP coalition as well as the AAP with a landslide win of 77 seats in the 117-member Assembly.

Meanwhile, with 20 seats, the Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the biggest opposition. 

Captain Amarinder Singh, without a question, deserves credit for the Congress' resurgence in Punjab, not just in the 2017 elections, but well beyond.

Already responsible for Operation Blue Star in 1984, the Congress regime was linked to enforced disappearances and encounter murders of Sikhs in the 1990s.

The party needed a face that wasn't tarnished by its history, which is where Captain Amarinder Singh stepped in. 

(With inputs from agencies)