Party name not finalised, will field candidates in all 117 seats: Amarinder Singh

New Delhi, Oct 27: Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that he will float a new party and it will contest all 117 seats in the forthcoming assembly elections.

Speaking at a press conference, the former Punjab Chief Minister claimed that many Congress leaders will join his party. However, Singh stated that he never said he will have an alliance with the BJP, but he would look for a seating arrangement.

However, the name and the symbol of the party have not been finalised yet. "Yes I am forming a party, but I can't give you a name as our lawyers are working with the Election Commission," Singh said.

When asked why he had not resigned from Congress, the senior politician said, "I have been with the party for so long, if I stay for 10 days what's the harm."

The 79-year-old politician was forced to resign from the post of Chief Minister after a bitter fallout with state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu in September. The former vowed to defeat the latter in the next election.

"As far as Sidhu (Navjot Singh Sidhu) is concerned, wherever he fights from we will fight him," he reiterated.

Talking about his achievements as the CM of Punjab, Amarinder Singh claimed that 92 percent of the poll promises were fulfilled by his government in 4.5 years.

On the security concerns, Singh said that there are sleeper cells of the ISI and Khalistan working together and it was irresponsible for any government to dismiss security concerns.

"They mock me regarding security measures. My basic training is that of a soldier. I have been in the service for 10 years - from my training period to the time I left the Army, so I know the basics," Amarinder Singh added.

He also said that the state's security was under threat in view of an increasing number of drone attacks. Drones were used to deploy weapons and drugs in the past and explosives are also being dropped by the devices. "I am not an alarmist. But I know something is happening," he said

"On the other hand, I was Punjab Home Minister for 9.5 years. Somebody who has been the Home Minister for 1 month seems to say that he knows more than me...Nobody wants a disturbed Punjab. We must understand we have been through very difficult times in Punjab," Singh further stated.