Ludhiana, Dec 14 (PTI) Union minister and BJP"s in-charge for Punjab polls Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday said the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and the saffron party are likely to join hands for the upcoming assembly polls in the state. He said the talks between the two parties are in progress in this regard. Both the parties are like-minded and hold identical views on several issues, Shekhawat added. He was here to address a state-level workers" meeting. Shekhawat alleged that Punjab was lagging behind in all fields and had slipped down from a top position to the 16th in the country in respect of growth. “The state was in an economic mess, carrying huge debts of approximately Rs four lakh crore and requiring paying tremendous amounts of interest. In the field of employment also, Punjab stood far behind the national average in the country,” he said. Shekhawat asked BJP workers to expose the political parties which are trying to befool the people by making false promises. He lashed out at Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking how many of his promises he made to people of the national capital have been fulfilled. He exhorted the party workers to work hard for the formation of the BJP government in the state. On the occasion, former Akali MLA Mohan Lal Banga and former IAS officer S R Ladhar were among 21 persons who joined the BJP. Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma, Punjab affairs in-charge Dushyant Gautam and other senior leaders of the party were present in the meeting. PTI COR CHS VSD AQS AQS