Former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Navjot Kaur Sidhu and Pargat Singh, an Olympian and ex-MLA of the Shiromani Akali Dal, joined the Congress on Monday. The two politicians made the announcement at a press conference in New Delhi in the presence of party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. Congress state president Captain Amarinder Singh had announced the development on Twitter on November 21.

On her cricketer-turned-politician husband Navjot Singh Sidhu joining the Congress, Navjot Kaur said, “Hum do shareer ek aatma hai, fir ek durse ke bina kab tak reh paenge? (We are two bodies and one soul. How long can we live separately)”. Elections in Punjab are likely to be held early next year.

Navjot Kaur Sidhu and her husband had both resigned from the BJP on September 14. Calling it a dictatorship, she had alleged that the party had not let her work on the problems her constituency was facing.

Pargat Singh had resigned from the SAD on September 12, days after forming political forum Aawaaz-e-Punjab with Navjot Singh Sidhu and independent MLAs, the Bains brothers. The hockey player-turned-politician had been suspended from the ruling party in the state on account of his alleged “anti-party activities”.