Former two-time Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Darshan Singh Shivalik joined Akali Dal Waris Punjab De in Ludhiana on Sunday, days after Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali switched to the party.Addressing party workers, Tarsem Singh said Akali Dal Waris Punjab De would contest the forthcoming Punjab assembly elections under the leadership of Amritpal Singh. (HT Photo)Shivalik, a prominent Akali leader from Ludhiana district, was elected from Dakha in 2007 and Gill in 2012 on SAD tickets. He, however, lost the subsequent Assembly elections from Gill to the Congress in 2017 and the Aam Aadmi Party in 2022.After differences surfaced within the SAD, Shivalik aligned himself with Ayali and joined the breakaway Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), floated by anti-Badal leaders. Ayali recently left the faction and joined Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, the political outfit associated with jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh. Shivalik followed suit on Sunday.Shivalik was inducted into the party in the presence of its patron Tarsem Singh, father of Amritpal Singh. Ayali and Mandeep Singh Sidhu, brother of late actor and activist Deep Sidhu, were also present. Shivalik said he had joined the party with the hope of providing Punjab with a strong regional political alternative.Addressing party workers, Tarsem Singh said Akali Dal Waris Punjab De would contest the forthcoming Punjab assembly elections under the leadership of Amritpal Singh, who would be projected as the party’s chief ministerial candidate. He also ruled out any alliance with a national political party, saying the party would contest the elections independently.