After poll rout, Badal puts up brave front, says Akalis will bounce back
Shiromani Akali Dal core committee meeting in Chandigarh deliberates on reasons for the party’s worst-ever electoral performance in the Punjab assembly elections
Putting up a brave front before the Shiromani Akali Dal core committee meeting began in Chandigarh on Monday to deliberate on the party’s worst-ever performance in the Punjab assembly elections, SAD patriarch and five-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal expressed confidence that the party will bounce back.
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“The Shiromani Akali Dal has faced such scenarios in the past and it will recover from this, too,” Badal said as he reached 10 minutes ahead of schedule to attend the core committee meeting that was later joined by his son and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Ranjit Singh Brahmpura besides other senior leaders.
Before heading for the meeting that began at 2pm, SAD spokesperson Prem Singh Chandumajra, who is also a former member of Parliament, told mediapersons that the entire party leadership should take the onus for the poor performance. “One person cannot be blamed. A committee should be set up to analyse the reasons for the party’s worst-ever defeat and suggest the way forward,” he said.
The SAD-BSP alliance managed to win only four of the 117 seats with all its top leaders, including Badal Senior and Sukhbir, losing.
The three SAD candidates who won are Bikram Singh Majithia’s wife Ganieve Kaur from Majitha, Manpreet Singh Ayali from Dakha and Dr Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi from Banga.
The lone BSP candidate to win is Dr Nachhatar Pal from Nawanshahr.
The 100-year-old SAD had won 15 seats in the 2017 assembly elections.