Former ED officer and retired police DSP join Amritpal Singh's party in Punjab

A former senior enforcement officer and a retired police official have joined the Akali Dal, known as Waris Punjab De, which is led by jailed parliamentarian Amritpal Singh. Niranjan Singh, who previously served as the Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate in Jalandhar, made the political move on Wednesday. He stated that his entry into politics is built on four core issues which include the drug crisis, high-level corruption, public safety, and joblessness, adding that he has no plans to contest any polls. Niranjan also addressed past talk about a separate homeland by stating that India is their land and there is no need for another. On the same day, former Punjab Police DSP Balwinder Singh also switched from the BJP to join the party, citing the fight against drug networks as his main motivation. Manpreet Singh Ayali, a three-time legislator from Dakha who left the Shiromani Akali Dal to join this new outfit, defended the party's inclusivity. Ayali claimed that the group intends to contest elections by fielding candidates from Hindu and Dalit communities as well, and promised to appoint two deputy chief ministers from these groups if they form a government. He blamed the decline of the traditional Akali Dal on leadership failures, tracing the party's troubles back to a controversial pardon granted eleven years ago to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief. Meanwhile, retired bureaucrats revealed that party leaders have sought their counsel to make the outfit more broad-based, building on a strategy that started during the 2024 elections when Amritpal's father campaigned primarily against drugs rather than pushing radical slogans. Political analyst Dr Pramod Kumar expressed skepticism about the shift, calling it an attempt by a radical group to wear a moderate mask that may find it hard to alter its core identity.