Amritsar:, May 17 -- A day after he was expelled from the Shiromani Akali Dal (Punir Surjit), former Punjab minister Surjit Singh Rakhra joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday in his native village Rakhra in Patiala district, in a move seen as politically significant for the region.

A prominent political face from Patiala district, Rakhra served as revenue and rehabilitation minister in the SAD-BJP government led by former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. He is a two-time MLA from the Samana assembly constituency and has contested assembly elections five times.

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann formally inducted Rakhra into the party fold and praised his political career, describing him as an experienced and honest leader who...