Punjab assembly elections: BJP to contest without CM face, says Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi
Accompanying the BJP candidate from Ludhiana-West Bikram Singh Sidhu to mini-secretariat for the filing of his nomination, Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi said the BJP will contest the Punjab assembly elections without CM face
Minister of state for external affairs and culture Meenakshi Lekhi put an end to speculation surrounding the possibility of former chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh being projected as CM face by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) ahead of upcoming state assembly elections.
Lekhi, who accompanied the BJP candidate from Ludhiana-West Bikram Singh Sidhu to mini-secretariat for the filing of his nomination, said “BJP does not declare the CM candidate. During the previous elections no one knew who would be the CM candidate in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra. Thus, no CM candidate has been declared so far in Punjab as well.”
Lekhi hits out at Bharat Bhusan Ashu
Lekhi went on to accuse the Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu taking credit of the development works being carried out in the constituency. She said the funds for development projects including the Smart City project, for which Ashu was taking credit for, were released by the central government.
She was also critical of Ashu’s posters, projecting him as a “man of promise”, that dotted the area.
“How can they (the Congress-led government) talk of development? They do not have a single penny on giving salaries to anganwari workers,” she said.
Lekhi later claimed that kickbacks were being received in the lieu of carrying out deployment work in the constituency, but stopped short of naming Ashu in her allegations.
The minister also said that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was a non-entity, adding that people in the constituency were looking at BJP for an alternative.
‘PLC candidates welcome to contest on a BJP ticket’
On being asked about the PLC candidates fighting the elections on the BJP symbol, Lekhi said that the two parties were working as a team.
“The ultimate objective is winning the election. If the PLC candidate wishes to fight election on a BJP ticket, they are welcome to do so,” she added.