Even as Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh continue to tender their resignations and join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, a similar development is coming to light from the state of Punjab. In a simple ceremony held to mark the festival of Holi on March 10, Rajinder Kumar Paruthi of the BJP joined the Congress party.

Paruthi is the former BJP president of Jalalabad city and joined the Congress in the presence of Jalalabad MLA Raminder Awla. Jalalabad is considered a stronghold of the Akali Dal, the BJP's ally in Punjab. The importance of the Jalalabad seat is evident by the fact that former deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had been representing it since 2009.

On a day when the resignation of senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia has sent ripples across the Congress party, this development comes as but a meager accomplishment for the Punjab unit of the Indian National Congress (INC). The news of Scindia’s departure from the party and speculation that he may join the BJP, fuelled by his meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has led to even further confusion within the ranks of the national party.

In the 117-member state Assembly in Punjab, the Congress has 77 MLAs followed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with 20, the SAD with 15, the BJP with 3 and the Lok Insaaf Party with 2. Elections to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha are due in 2022 after the five-year term of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ends.