Punjab elections: It's Sidhu vs Majithia in Amritsar East; ex-CM Badal to contest from Lambi
Chandigarh, Jan 26: Senior Shiromani Akali Dal Bikram Singh Majithia will be contesting against Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu from Amritsar East in the upcoming Punjab elections. The party has fielded former CM Parkash Singh Badal from Lambi constituency.
Parkash Singh Badal will be the oldest candidate in the fray for the February 20 Assembly elections. Declaring Majithia's candidature, party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal attacked Sidhu, saying his political life is "coming to an end".
Meanwhile, Majithia expressed his gratitude to the SAD chief for fielding him from Amritsar East and tweeted, "Akalis have a brave history of fighting to safeguard the rights of Punjabis & protecting them from the anti-Punjab elements like @sherryontopp."
Amritsar East will be the second seat from where Bikram Singh Majithia will be contesting. The other seat from where he will be in the fray is the Majitha Assembly segment. "Navjot Sidhu, be ready," Sukhbir Badal told the Punjab Congress chief.
The
SAD
president
said
his
party's
Amritsar
leadership
and
workers
told
him
that
Sidhu's
"arrogance"
has
to
be
shattered.
"Our
warrior
will
fight
from
the
Amritsar
East
seat,"
he
said.
Sukhbir
Badal
said
rival
political
parties
are
targeting
Majithia
as
he
raises
the
voice
of
people.
He
accused
the
Charanjit
Singh
Channi
government,
especially
Sidhu
of
getting
a
false
drug
case
registered
against
Majithia.
Booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act last month, Majithia has been trying to secure an anticipatory bail from courts. Majithia was denied relief by the Punjab and Haryana High Court early this week but was given three-day protection from arrest to move the Supreme Court for reprieve.
"You
(Sidhu)
used
to
make
false
allegations
and
now
the
people
of
Punjab
and
people
of
your
constituency
will
dispense
justice,"
said
Badal
after
declaring
Majithia's
candidature.
Targeting
Sidhu
for
"doing
nothing"
for
the
Amritsar
East
constituency,
Badal
said
the
cricketer-turned-politician
has
been
harping
on
his
Punjab
Model
but
completely
neglected
his
own
constituency.
"A
leader
who
does
not
go
to
his
constituency
and
meet
workers
talks
about
the
Punjab
Model,"
the
SAD
chief
said.
"His
political
life
is
coming
to
an
end
and
it
is
going
to
be
his
last
election,"
Badal
asserted.
On the Lambi seat, Badal said his father and former CM Parkash Singh Badal will be contesting. "Badal sahab fought for Punjab and the community throughout his life. He told me that he will not retire," he said.
"Badal Sahab has always been in the forefront to offer his services for the welfare of Punjab and Punjabis and he is doing so again," he added. Badal has been winning from the Lambi assembly seat since 1997. With the announcement of candidates on the two seats, the SAD has now declared candidates on all 97 seats on which it is going to contest the February 20 state Assembly polls.
The party, meanwhile, announced the candidature of Satinder Singh Chajjwalwadi from the Jandiala seat, replacing Malkit Singh, who has expressed inability to fight polls on health grounds. The SAD has tied up with the BSP for the coming elections. According to the seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties, the BSP will field candidates on 20 of the 117 Assembly seats in Punjab, while the rest will be contested by the Shiromani Akali Dal. PTI