Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's brother Daljeet Singh Kohli joins BJP

At an election rally in Amritsar, today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's brother Daljeet Singh Kohli formally joined the BJP. 

Narendra Modi, who was addressing a joint BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal rally in the city, as part of the campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, greeted Kohli with open arms.

PM Manmohan Singh’s brother Daljeet Singh joins BJP during a public meeting in Amritsar pic.twitter.com/DYhZ7xwQm6

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 25, 2014

Kohli, a businessman based here, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when Modi came here to address a rally in favour of senior party leader Arun Jaitley, who is contesting from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat. "Today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's brother Daljeet Singh has joined the BJP. This will further strengthen us. We are not a membership party. We form blood relations," Modi said while welcoming Kohli into the BJP fold.

The BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal are ruling partners in Punjab, as well as the constituents of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Kohli had remained apolitical even after his elder brother Manmohan Singh became prime minister in 2004 and got a second term in 2009. Manmohan Singh had studied in Amritsar after his father's family migrated here from western Punjab in Pakistan following the partition in August 1947.

The news received extreme reactions on social media:

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Brother Daljeet Singh Kohli joins BJP ;-) ;-) #FlashNews :-)

— Bala Valluvan (@balavalluvan) April 25, 2014

That Awkward Moment When Manmohan Singh's Bro Daljeet Singh Kohli shall blame #Congress for being Communal & Responsible for killing #Sikhs

— Raman (@being_delhite) April 25, 2014

Also read: Amarinder Singh warns Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP govt against 'legalising' drug trade

(With agency inputs)