Suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member of parliament and former diplomat Harinder Singh Khalsa is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party. Elected from Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha constituency on a AAP ticket in 2014, Khalsa was suspended from the party in 2015.

He is considered close to Union urban development minister Hardeep Puri as both of them are Indian Foreign Service (1974) batchmates. Puri reportedly has played a key role in convincing Khalsa to join the party fold, sources said. And if he joins the party, BJP is weighing options to field him from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, from where the party is looking for a Sikh face.

Khalsa was the Indian envoy in Norway when Operation Bluestar took place in 1984, and he had quit his job as a mark of protest. At that time Captain Amarinder Singh had also resigned as the Patiala MP, besides quitting the Congress.

Sources said the BJP is keen on having Khalsa on its side, as he can woo Sikh voters who don’t favour Shiromani Akali Dal. “The decision to approach Khalsa to join the party has been taken after many deliberations as the party lacked a prominent Sikh face who could speak on community issues and has a pro-Panth image. The deal is almost done and Khalsa will meet party president Amit Shah in a day or two,” said a BJP leader privy to the deliberations.

Before being elected from Fatehgarh Sahib, Khalsa was elected as an MP from Bathinda in 1996 on a Shiromani Akali Dal ticket. He was also a member of the National Commission of Scheduled Castes and Tribes under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Asked if he was joining BJP, Khalsa said, “I can’t divulge much, but I can say that I am going to support PM Narendra Modi. I will work for all three BJP candidates from Punjab as I want that Modi should come back, as he is a strong leader and is honest.”

Khalsa had attended the lecture series organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Delhi in January, and his opponents had raised a hue and cry over it. Khalsa said he has met several RSS leaders and was impressed with their ideology to make India a better country.

On his proposed meeting with Amit Shah, Khalsa said that he will be meeting him in a day or two. “At present, I have no intention to contest election, but will work for the party. However, if any proposal is put before me, I will surely think over it,” he said.

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First Published: Mar 13, 2019 13:47 IST