New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS): Ahead of the assembly polls in Punjab scheduled to be held next year, five Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders and a former TV host joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday.

A former national general secretary of Akali Dal's women wing, Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia, and Gurpreet Singh Shahpur, Chand Singh Chatha, Baljinder Singh Dakoha and Pritam Singh joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, BJP Punjab in-charge Dushyant Gautam, national general secretary Tarun Chugh at the party headquarters here.

The assembly polls in Punjab is likely to witness a quadrangular contest between the ruling Congress, BJP, SAD and the Aam Aadmi Party.

Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia is the daughter of former Union Minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia. A former TV anchor Chetan Mohan Joshi also joined the party.

Welcoming the SAD leaders into the saffron camp, Shekhawat said: "Joining of these leaders shows in which direction the wind of change is blowing in Punjab before the assembly poll."

Shekhawat alleged that some political parties are misleading farmers for their hunger of power.

Gautam said the people in Punjab want peace and are looking at Prime Minister Narendra Modi with hope. "The BJP family is growing in Punjab and in the coming days more people will also join," Gautam said.

Chugh said that the people believe that the development of the country and all the states including Punjab is possible only under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi.