Chandigarh, Oct. 1 -- Former minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Anil Joshi, 61, met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday and is all set to officially join the party tomorrow. His meeting with the Congress leadership comes amid buzz that Joshi might be the party's pick for the upcoming Tarn Taran Assembly bypoll. An RSS worker, Joshi is a known Hindu leader in Punjab and is regarded as a sharp, outspoken leader. A two-time MLA from Amritsar North, Joshi had served as a cabinet minister in the 2012 SAD-BJP government, handling the local bodies and medical education portfolio. He also remained the industry minister before that for 1.5 years. He was expelled from the saffron party for six years in 2021 over his remarks against the BJP-led central government over (now repealed) three farm laws. Following this, he joined the SAD and fought the 2022 assembly polls and later the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on an Akali ticket unsuccessfully. Confirming the development, Joshi said he had earlier also met Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal in Delhi, where they discussed political matters and also enquired about his family's well-being. "It was during that meeting that I decided to join the Congress. I had already bid farewell to SAD six months ago," he said, referring to his resignation in November last year. Joshi had resigned, citing the panthic agenda being pursued by the Akali Dal when the party was facing tumultuous times after the rebel leaders had filed a complaint against party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal with the Akal Takht. Joshi said he had received a phone call from Sukhbir, urging him to return to the party. "I declined and told him that ideological differences with SAD made it impossible for me to continue in the party," Joshi said. Joshi clarified that he never took his resignation back from SAD. "I had resigned in November 2024 from Akali Dal and since then have never participated in any party activity," Joshi said, who hails from Sangha village in Tarn Taran....