CHANDIGARH, Oct 9 (TOI) : Suspended Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Pargat Singh on Friday disclosed that Awaaz-ePunjab leader Navjot Singh Sidhu was in touch with the Congress for a possible tieup ahead of Punjab elections.

Speaking to TOI, the former Olympian said the front would not rule out a pre-poll alliance with the Congress.

He also maintained that all members of Awaaz-ePunjab were united in their decision to contest elections in 2017. "As far as any decision making is concerned, we are all united. We have left the decision to Sidhu who is directly in touch with the senior leadership of Congress," said Pargat.

He confirmed that he, along with Bains brothers, had met Sidhu at his residence for the third time on Thursday but did not comment if any of them had met Captain Amarinder, who too was in Delhi to meet Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

He also offered no comments on what possible seatsharing formula Awaaz-ePunjab was proposing. Sources in the Congress said leaders from Majha region of the party, including Partap Bajwa, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Raj Kumar Verka and Ashwani Sekhri, were in touch with Awaaz-ePunjab Sources also said cricketers and former Congress MP Mohammad Azharuddin and Bishan Singh Bedi were being approached to help party rope in Sidhu.Pargat's revelation is a surprise of sorts, as Awaaz-ePunjab had said in a statement on September 26 that it "will not align with the Congress led by Capt Amarinder Singh".

"Amarinder is hand in glove with the Badals, his dubious, behind-the-curtain deals with the Badals are an open secret. There is no question of betraying the people of Punjab. Politics is a mission, not a profession.This is a war between right and wrong. We will be on the right side and back Punjab," the statement had read.

However, the Sidhu-led front's offer was rejected by Congress leaders right away. Sidhu has attacked Amarinder earlier too, releasing a statement accusing him of a nexus with the Badals. Amarinder, on the other hand, had initially welcomed Sidhu to the Congress after he quit the Rajya Sabha, but has taken him on since. After Sidhu launched Awaaz-e-Punjab, Amarinder called it a "tonga party" and said Sidhu had no mass appeal and was known for comedy rather than political acumen.