Two founding members of Awaaz-e-Punjab met AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in Bathinda on Sunday
Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu's newly floated political front, the Awaaz-e-Punjab, is bracing for a heavy jolt as two of its founding members are set for a tie up with the Aam Admi Party ahead of the state assembly polls.
Simarjit Bains and his brother Balwinder Singh Bains, both independent legislators from Punjab's Ludhiana, met AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in Bathinda on Sunday. A formal announcement of them joining the party is expected today.
The development comes after weeks of closed-door meetings between the four Awaaz-e-Punjab leaders with Congress and AAP representatives.
Awaaz-e-Punjab, a political forum launched in September, had initially talked about allying with non-Akali and non-Congress political outfits. Mr Sidhu had also criticised Mr Kejriwal of running the Aam Aadmi Party like a dictator. After the last round of talks, Mr Sidhu had declared that Mr Kejriwal "wants only yes men."
There was speculation that AAP has re-opened negotiations with Mr Sidhu after it perceived a dip in popularity ahead of assembly elections to be held in Punjab early next year.
Navjot Singh Sidhu formally quit the BJP last month, but had made public his disenchantment with his party of a decade in July when he resigned from the Rajya Sabha. Since then he has been engaged in assessing other options.