New Delhi Dec 27 PTI The BJP will contest the assembly polls in Punjab in alliance with Amarinder Singhs Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsas SAD Sanyukt and the parties will issue a joint manifesto Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat said on MondayBoth Singh and Dhindsa a Rajya Sabha MP met with the BJP top brass including president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Shahs residence here to chalk out a strategy for the pollsA meeting attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah BJP president J P Nadda Amarinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was held here And it was decided that the BJP Singhs party and Dhindsas party will jointly contest upcoming assembly polls in Punjab Shekhawat told the media after the meetingShekhawat the BJPs poll in-charge for Punjab said a joint committee will be formed comprising two leaders from each party to finalise a seat sharing agreementSources in the BJP said they see the elections in Punjab becoming a five-cornered fight as various farmer outfits may enter the fray besides the Congress SAD and the AAPSingh formed his own party the Punjab Lok Congress days after he resigned as the chief minister and quit the CongressEarlier one of the BJPs oldest allies the SAD moved out of the NDA over the issue of farm sector lawsThe alliance with Amarinder Singh and Dhindsa would associate the BJP with prominent Sikh faces in the state PTI JTR IJT

New Delhi Dec 17 PTI The BJP Friday formally announced that it will contest the Punjab assembly polls with Amarinder Singhs Punjab Lok Congress and the alliance is likely to be joined by other parties such as the SAD Democratic led by former Union minister Sukhdev Singh DhindsaSingh Friday called on the BJPs Punjab in-charge and Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat at his residence here This was the second meeting between the two leaders after they met in Chandigarh earlier this monthAfter the Friday meeting they officially announced the alliance between their partiesToday I want to make it clear that the BJP and Amarinder Singh will contest assembly elections in Punjab together and we are working together Shekhawat told the media with Singh by his sideShekhawat said the details of seat-sharing will be announced at an appropriate timeSingh said The alliance will definitely 101 per cent win the elections And winnability will be the main criterion in finalising seats Soon after Singh left Shekhawats residence former Union minister and SAD Democratic president Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa came to meet the BJPs Punjab in-chargeSources said Dhindsas SAD Democratic will also be part of the alliance Some other smaller parties are also likely to join in they saidThe BJP which had been contesting only 23 seats in the 117-member Punjab assembly player as a junior partner of the SAD will this time likely to contest more than half of the seats and will anchor the alliance as a senior partner they saidSources in the BJP said they see the elections in Punjab becoming a five-cornered fight as various farmer outfits may enter the fray besides the already-present Congress SAD and AAP Singh formed his own party Punjab Lok Congress days after he resigned as the chief minister and quit the CongressEarlier one of the BJPs oldest allies SAD a party based on principles Sikhism moved out of the ruling NDA alliance over the issue of farm sector lawsThe alliance with Amarinder Singh would give the BJP a prominent Sikh face in the Sikh-majority state PTI JTR JTR TIR TIR