A win here will lay foundation of Cong victory in 2019 polls: Jakhar

AMRITSAR: A day after being fielded as the Congress candidate for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll, state party chief Sunil Jakhar on Thursday said his win will lay foundation of the party in the 2019 general elections. He also said the bypoll will be a “referendum” on the Modi government.

Before kicking off his election campaign, Jakhar, along with Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Congress MLAS from Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts, visited the Golden Temple and Durgiana Temple to pay obeisance.

Interacting with the media, Jakhar said: “The party will focus issues being confronted by the people across the country. Besides, we will also seek votes on the development works and schemes launched by the Captain Amarinder Singh government during the past six months in the state.”

“We will expose the failures of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre. The Congress win in the bypoll will lay the foundation of the party’s victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” Jakhar further said.

Hitting back at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Badal’s allegations that the Captain government had failed to fulfil its pre-election promises, Jakhar said the 10-year rule of the Akali-bjp government had pushed the state into deep financial mess.

Ruling out differences with the Bajwa family on allotment, he said: “This is our strength not weakness, as our party has many leaders who are efficient to contest elections. Congress national president Sonia Gandhi has taken this decision on the basis of the suggestions given by local leaders and MLAS. The party is united.”