Amid speculation that the Akali Dal may shift her to the Ferozepur parliamentary seat for the Lok Sabha polls, Union Minister and party leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal Saturday said Bathinda will always be in her heart.
The SAD leader also attacked the ruling Congress and wondered how its candidates will seek votes as the party had "failed" to fulfil promises made before the assembly polls.
"I have affection for the people here (Bathinda) where I have done hard work for 10 years. They stood by me during the toughest tests. I cannot ever forget that," the sitting MP from Bathinda said.
"My heart is over here but of course my aim is to serve the people of the state. It is ok wherever I am sent (by party), I am fine. But Bathinda will always be in my heart," she added.
Despite speculation that Harsimrat Kaur Badal may be fielded from Ferozepur, she has been meeting party workers in villages falling in Bathinda parliamentary seat.
Sukhbir Badal had earlier said that the party's core committee would take a decision on her candidature.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal had first won from Bathinda in 2009 when she defeated Raninder Singh, son of chief minister Amarinder Singh by 1.20 lakh votes.
In 2014, she trounced Manpreet Badal, estranged cousin of Sukhbir Badal, by over 19,000 votes.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal said ensuring progress and development and maintaining brotherhood and peace in Punjab are her top priorities.
She also took credit for several development projects in Bathinda including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), an airport and upgradation of a railway station.
Lambasting the Amarinder Singh government in Punjab, she said: "I fail to understand which promises they (Congress government) have fulfilled in two years."
How will they seek votes from the people, I am surprised. The people are fed up with the state government, she added.
She exuded confidence that the SAD-BJP alliance would win all 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
She also accused finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal of shying away from contesting from Bathinda seat and alleged that every section of the society was hit by his decisions like reducing the salaries of contractual teachers and refusal to regularise 27,000 contractual employees.
Hitting out at Punjab Ekta Party chief Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who is contesting from Bathinda, Harsimrat called the party as a "B team" of the Congress.
She also lashed out at SAD (Taksali), breakaway faction of Akali Dal, saying, "Their impact is going to be zero in the elections".
"They used to win because of the party (SAD). Now they want to dance to the Congress tune. People have seen them and they do not have much of standing in their own area," she added.
Khadoor Sahib MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, former MP Rattan Singh Ajnala and Sewa Singh Sekhwan had floated their own party SAD (Taksali) after revolting against the SAD leadership.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)