Dhindsa camp upset, Sukhbir meets father-son duo

: Days after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) denied a ticket to former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa from Sangrur, his supporters held a meeting at Akali patron Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s residence here in Chandigarh on Wednesday, prompting party president Sukhbir Singh Badal to call on the father-son duo to ‘placate’ them.

Former ministers Baldev Singh Mann, Parminder Dhindsa and Sarwan Singh Phillaur, former CPSs Sant Balvir Singh Ghunas and Parkash Chand Garg, former MLAs justice Nirmal Singh, Gaganjeet Singh Barnala and Sukhwinder Singh Aulakh (ex-MLA) and about a dozen SGPC members attended the meeting along with other leaders of the Akali Dal.

On April 13, Akali Dal announced its first list of seven candidates for LS polls, naming Iqbal Singh Jhoonda as its nominee from Sangrur.

The other candidates fielded, include senior leaders Daljit Singh Cheema from Gurdaspur and Prem Singh Chandumajra from Anandpur Sahib, respectively.

The Akali Dal fielded NK Sharma from Patiala, Anil Joshi from Amritsar, Bikramjit Singh Khalsa from Fatehgarh Sahib and Rajwinder Singh from Faridkot.

Parminder and his father Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, came back into the party fold after a gap of four years last month. On his return, Dhindsa Sr was given the overarching role of patron of the party, however, sources in SAD revealed that no consultations had taken place with him over candidature in these seven constituencies announced on April 13.

Jhoonda’s candidature has come as an embarrassment for Dhindsas, who were expecting a nomination from Sangrur as they used to be the obvious choice from the constituency in the past elections.

In a press release, the Dhindsa supporters criticised the decision to deny a ticket to Parminder.

Lamenting the failure of the party leadership to fulfil promises made for the welfare of the panth and Punjab, which were made before Dhindsas joined the party, supporters expressed their inability to work for the party under such circumstances.

“However, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, while addressing the gathering, urged for unity and adherence to the true principles of the Shiromani Akali Dal, despite the political challenges”, the press release added.