Assembly polls: BJP to contest 23 seats in Punjab

CHANDIGARH: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 23 of the 117 seats in the Punjab assembly elections.

Speaking on the concluding day of the two-day brainstorming session of the BJP ahead of 2017 polls, state party affairs in-charge Prabhat Jha said the alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will continue.

“Parkash Singh Badal ji is a humble person and a leader of the masses. He is the face of the SAD-BJP coalition,” Jha said.

“There is no confusion. We will contest the polls in alliance with the Akali Dal. There may be exchange of candidates on a couple of seats with the Akali Dal for which talks are on,” he said.

Hoping that the SAD-BJP alliance will form the government for the third consecutive term, Jha said: “We have a target of winning 23 seats.”

“We are conducting surveys to gauge the party’s popularity in the state and the results are encouraging,” he said.

‘LEADER WITHOUT PARTY ZERO’

In an apparent reference to cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who recently resigned as a Rajya Sabha member, Jha said the party is bigger than any personality. “A leader may be very popular, but he is zero without the party banner. Anyone who joins a party should set aside his expectations.”

PUNJAB DIFFERENT FROM DELHI

In an indirect reference to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jha said the assembly elections in Delhi and Punjab are different. “They (AAP leaders) formed the government in Delhi by accident. This is not going to happen in Punjab,” he said, adding AAP had defamed Punjab over the drug issue.