BJP to contest 23 seats in Punjab assembly polls

Jalandhar, Jan 5 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has presently been given 22 of the 117 assembly seats in Punjab by its senior alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) but efforts were on for getting one more seat-Garhshankar-for the partyin the coming elections in the state, BJP state vice president Narottam Dev Ratti today said.

Talking to UNI here, Mr Ratti said that as per the seat sharing understanding with ally SAD, the BJP is to field its nominees on 22 seats and to support SAD on the remaining seats.

However, the party state leadership is holding talks with SAD leadership through BJP high command, for seeking Garhshankar seat for its contestant.

In the last assembly election BJP had contested 23 seats including Garhshankar.

Garhshankar seat was won by the BJP state president Avinash Rai Khanna in the last assembly election but he vacated the same following his election to the Lok Sabha from Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency in 1994. In the subsequent bye election in Garhshankar the BJP could not retain the seat.

UNI