Badal family casts vote in native village

Badal, 89, and his family members arrived at the village polling station amid tight security.

Chandigarh, Feb 4: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son and Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and daughter-in-law and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal cast their vote on Saturday in Badal village. It is part of the Lambi assembly constituency which the chief minister represents.

Badal, 89, and his family members arrived at the village polling station amid tight security. "We will win easily. Punjab is looking forward to peace and development," the chief minister said after exercising his franchise.

Badal is being challenged on the Lambi seat by Punjab congress president and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Jarnail Singh.

"We will register a better victory this time. Amarinder Singh will lose his security deposit," Sukhbir Badal, who is the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, told the media after casting his vote.

Badal's elder brother, Gurdas Badal, arrived separately to cast his vote earlier. The Chief Minister's estranged nephew and former Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal (son of Gurdas Badal) also cast his vote at the same polling station earlier.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance, that has been in power in Punjab since 2007, is facing a tough challenge from the Congress and the AAP.

Sukhbir Badal is facing challenge from two sitting MPs - Bhagwant Mann (AAP) and Ravneet Singh Bittu (Congress), on the Jalalabad assembly seat.

IANS