Punjab elections: BJP to contest on 65 seats, PLC on 37, SAD (Sanyukt) on 15

New Delhi, Jan 24: BJP chief JP Nadda on Tuesday announced that the party will contest in 65 seats, the Punjab Lok Congress on 37 seats and the SAD (Sanyukt) on 17 seats in the forthcoming Punjab assembly elections.

Hailing Punjab as a "leader", especially in defence and food security of the country, Nadda said, "Today Punjab needs special attention, it needs a double engine government and a better coordination between the Centre and the state."

The BJP chief announced the seat sharing agreement at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in the presence of Punjab Lok Congress supremo Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

"I am announcing a broader seat sharing agreement, BJP will contest on 65 seats, PLC on 37 seats and SAD (Sanyukt) on 15 seats," Nadda said.

Speaking at the same conference, Amarinder Singh stated that the three parties have united for the sake of national security and welfare of the state, all three parties have come together. Nadda said Punjab is a border state and security is a very important issue as far as assembly elections are concerned.

Polling in the single-phase Punjab assembly election will now take place on February 20.