SAD fields Bikram Singh Majithia against Navjot Singh Sidhu in Amritsar East
Apart from naming Bikram Singh Majithia as SAD candidate from Amritsar East against Navjot Sidhu, Sukhbir Singh Badal said five-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal will fight from the Lambi assembly
AMRITSAR: Sukbir Singh Badal’s Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday named former minister Bikram Singh Majithia as the party candidate from Amritsar East segment, setting up a face-off between Majithia and his sharpest critic, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu.
“With the party fielding Bikram against Sidhu, it will be the last election to be contested by Sidhu and end of his political career”, the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Wednesday as he announced Majithia’s name from the Amrister East assembly segment which is considered a bastion of the Sidhu couple.
The former minister is already the Akali candidate from Majitha, a rural constituency of Amritsar district, from where he has been elected three times in a row.
Sidhu and Majithia were once seen to be close to each other but had a falling out when the Akali Dal was in power, and Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu was MLA from Amritsar East. Since then, the two have not only issued stinging statements at each other but often clashed in the Punjab assembly too. Sidhu has been campaigning for action against Majithia for drug trafficking.
Majithia who is called as ‘Majhe Da Jarnail’ (general of Majha region) by Akalis, faces possible arrest in a drug case after his anticipatory bail plea was dismissed by Punjab and Haryana High court on Monday. However, he was able to get protection from arrest for three days.
Sukhbir Badal also announced that party’s patriarch and five-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal will fight from the Lambi assembly segment. “He fought during his entire life for Punjab. He has told me that he will not retire in his life. He will be SAD’s candidate from the Lambi constituency.”
Badal said “Navjot Sidhu’s arrogance will be his undoing. He has been harping on his support among the masses. Now his support will be tested with ‘Majha da sher’ taking him on in his home constituency. He should get ready to fight the brave SAD workers. We will demolish his arrogance by ensuring he loses his security deposit”.
Badal said “we have called Navjot Sidhu’s bluster. We know he has not done anything in his constituency for the last five years. He did not do anything in his constituency even as local bodies minister. Amritsar East has drinking water and even sewerage issues which have not been addressed by Sidhu. Now the people of his constituency will hold him to account”.
The SAD president said the Congress government targeted Majithia and even registered a false case against him as he always raised issues of the people.
“Majithia is known to fight for the people. This was not to the liking of the Congress government. They registered a false case against a Gursikh who is known to do ‘nitnem’ (prayers) for two and a half hours every day. Our workers also realized that the best way to seek justice for Majithia was in the people’s court and it is they who prevailed upon the party to make him the party candidate from Amritsar East. Badal also announced that the party’s chief sewadar from Amritar East – Gurpreet Randhawa will be the election incharge of Majithia.
Satinder Singh Chajjwalwadi, who was denied a Congres ticket from Baba Bakala segment, was also inducted into the SAD. Badal said he will be the party nominee from adjoining segment Jandiala Guru seat.