Not sure of ticket, Congress general secretary to join SAD

JALANDHAR: Punjab Congress general secretary Seth Satpal Mall will be joining Shi romani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday in the presence of the party president Sukhbir Singh Badal as latter will visit his place. Mall was earlier believed to be in talks with SAD, as he is not being considered for a Congress ticket.
He had applied for a ticket from Adampur constituency, and had been actively working for the party there.
When contacted, Mall on Sunday confirmed that SAD had approached him.“I've decide to join the Shiromani Akali Dal. More details will be made known so on,“ he said.
Meanwhile, the Congress has started making efforts to retain Mall after coming to know that he was thinking of switching sides.
Mall is considered close to Dera Ballan and is the president of the managing committee of Guru Ravidass Dham in Buta Mandi, which has a high population of RavidassiaAdidharmi community.
Now, the Congress has suffered the second defection in two weeks. Last week, Kabir Dass, a former Congress general secretary and former deputy mayor of Patiala, had resigned from Congress and joined the SAD.
Dass is also close to Dera Ballan and has been mainly looking after its affairs in Patiala and surrounding districts.
Sources in Congress said some prominent leaders from Jalandhar were trying to convince Mall not to leave the party, but he wanted an assurance that he would get a party ticket.
Mall was a ticket aspirant in 2012. At that time, he wanted a ticket either from Adampur or Kartarpur, but was not given one.
Mall has also represented the sect in meetings with the government regarding the violence that had erupted in Punjab following the death of Dera Ballan deputy head Sant Ramanand in a temple in Vienna.
In political circles, it is believed that in the 2012 assembly election most of the followers of the Dera Ballan, who traditionallly voted for the Congress, preferred BSP and the party gained at some reserved seats in Doaba region, leading to a loss for the Congress.