AAP suffers major setback in Jalandhar as PSIEC Vice-Chairman, former Jalandhar North in-charge Dinesh Dhall joins BJP

Jalandhar/Chandigarh, September 2, 2026:  The ruling Aam Aadmi Party suffered a major setback in Jalandhar on Wednesday as Dinesh Dhall, incumbent Vice-Chairman of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) and former in-charge of the Jalandhar North Assembly constituency, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party along with a large number of his supporters.
Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon formally welcomed Dhall and the other leaders into the party.
Among those who joined the BJP along with Dhall were councillor Amit Dhall, AAP Bazigar Board chairman Manpreet Sonu, former district president of the Nasha Mukti Morcha Ranjit Singh, Dilkusha Market Jalandhar chairman and Jalandhar North Doctors’ Wing president Navdeep Madan, Gujjar Samaj Jalandhar North chairman Sonu Chaudhary, Ward No. 2 in-charge Amit Sharma, former Jalandhar North youth coordinator Anil Dhall Bobby, Prajapat Samaj Jalandhar North chairman Vikram Kaushal, Ward No. 26 in-charge Puneet Vadera, Swarnkar Board Jalandhar North chairman Ashok Kumar, Nasha Mukti Morcha block coordinator Vikram Kaushal and ward coordinator Pawan Nanda, besides a large number of other supporters.
Welcoming the new entrants, Kewal Singh Dhillon said the BJP family was expanding every day and the party was steadily gaining strength across Punjab. He said the joining of Dinesh Dhall, along with prominent AAP leaders and workers from Jalandhar North, would give a major boost to the BJP.
Assuring the new entrants of due respect and responsibility in the party, Dhillon said the entry of prominent AAP leaders into the BJP was a clear indication that “the AAP ship is sinking”, while the BJP’s organisational base was continuously expanding.
The Punjab BJP chief said every section of society, including youth, farmers, labourers, employees and teachers, was fed up with the AAP government. He claimed that even dedicated leaders within the ruling party were feeling “suffocated” and looking for a change.
He alleged that the drug menace, gangsterism and the deteriorating law-and-order situation had become major challenges for Punjab, while the state’s debt had crossed Rs 4.5 lakh crore.
Dhillon said the “only solution” to Punjab’s problems was a BJP-led double-engine government and claimed that the people of Punjab had made up their minds to elect the BJP government in 2027.
State BJP general secretary Anil Sareen, former MLA KD Bhandari, SC Morcha state president Sheetal Angural, district president Ashok Sareen Hicky, Sushil Sharma, Amit Taneja and a large number of party leaders and workers were present on the occasion.