No Shiromani Akali Dal candidate for Patiala yet, says Sukhbir Singh Badal

PATIALA: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Wednesday that his party was yet to finalise a candidate for Patiala constituency.

Sukhbir, senior party leader Bikramjit Singh Majitha and Anandpur Sahib MP Prem Singh Chandumajra are among SAD leaders who have said they would field a strong contender from Patiala, the turf of the Badal family’s bitter political rival, chief minister Amarinder Singh. On Wednesday, Sukhbir said no name had been finalised and added, mockingly, that he himself might contest from Patiala, indicating that the party was yet to find the right candidate.

Badal, who was in Rajpura to meet party workers and supporters, said he attended meetings in 76 constituencies of the state and could feel an anti-Congress sentiment. “Results of the Lok Sabha elections will vindicate this,” he said.

Referring to the latest report issued by AIIMS on substance abuse across the country, in which Punjab has been placed among top three, Badal said it had proven that CM Amarinder Singh “played a fraud with the people of Punjab” by swearing to rid the state of the drug problem in four weeks after coming to power. “Two years have lapsed and not even a single promise made by Amarinder has been fulfilled,” he said.

Taking a dig at Punjab local governmet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu over his “uprooting the trees” comment on the IAF strikes in Balakot, Badal said Sidhu must confirm if he had affiliations with India or Pakistan. Meanwhile, it was learnt that former SAD minister Surjit Singh Rakhra has been neeting people in the parliamentary elections. Rakhra has been seen holding block-level meetings with party cadres and even held a religious congregation at Samana a few days ago.