The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Want to take on Badal: Capt
CM calls it ‘Rahul ploy to get rid of Capt’; Bittu may be pitted against Sukhbir
SEEKING TO counter Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s allegation of a “nexus” between him and the top Akali leadership, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh has decided to take on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s from the latter’s fiefdom of Lambi.
Amarinder, whose candidature in his bastion of Patiala (Urban) has already been announced, tweeted: “Have decided to fight Punjab Elections 2017 from Lambi. Will make it official soon.”
Amarinder is scheduled to file his nomination papers from Patiala on Tuesday. At a press conference in Amritsar on Saturday, he said he would contest from both the seats.
Hours later, the CM reacted, calling it “a smart ploy of (Congress vice-president) Rahul Gandhi to get rid of Amarinder.”
“Everyone knows Rahul does not like Amarinder,” Badal said, adding, “I hope he goes back with his security intact.”
SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal dismissed Amarinder’s decision to contest from Lambi as “cheap theatrics” and asked him to file his nomination from Lambi quickly without waiting for permission from Delhi.
Earlier, Amarinder told The Sunday Expressthathisdecisionto contestfromlambiwastoensure a “total rout” for Badals.
“This is my last election and I want to end my political career with the satisfaction of rescuing Punjab and its people from the vicious grip of the corrupt and criminal Badals. I want to ensure the defeat of all the top Akali leaders,beginningwithparkashsingh Badal. Hence, I want to fight Badal on his home turf,” he said.
“Iwanttoensurehistotalrout, as well as that of the party. I want toretirecomfortableintheknowledge that I did my bit for the welfare of the state and helpedfreethe people from the clutches of the Akalis”.
Partysourcessaidthedecision to field the Congress’s most credible leaders against Akali stalwarts was taken by Rahul Gandhi after Kejriwal’s barbs on a Congressakali “nexus”. The issue came up fordiscussionattherecentcentral Election Committee meeting of Congress on January 10. At first, Rahul is learnt to have asked his two young lieutenants in Punjab, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and Indian Youth Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, to take on the Badal father and son. Both, sources said, readily agreed.
However,onfriday,amarinder decided that he would be the persontotakeontheseniorbadaland offered his name for the contest in Lambi.bittuislikelytocontestfrom Jalalabad against Sukhbir. Former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is likely to join the Congress in New Delhi on Monday, is set to contest from Amritsar (East), represented by his wife Navjot Kaur.
Sources in the party said the decision to field Amarinder from Lambi may also help Sidhu, who had also alleged after quitting BJP that the Congress and the SAD were hand-in-glove and that he wouldjoincongressonly“minus Amarinder”. Now, he has all but joined the party.
The official announcement from Congress on both Lambi and Jalalabad are likely on Monday.
This is not the first time that Amarinder has opted to venture into an unsafe seat. During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Amarinder took on BJP heavyweight Arun Jaitley in Amritsar and won. All others fielded by the party against Akali or BJP top guns lost, including PCC president Partap Bajwa, then CLP leader Sunil Kumar Jakhar and AICC leader Ambika Soni.
Meanwhile, hours after Amarinder announced his decision to contest from Lambi, CM Arvind Kejriwal nudged him on twitter. The Delhi CM tweeted: “Sir aap do seats se larr rahe ho ya kewal Lambi se? Do se ladoge to log kayar kahenge. (Sir, are you contesting from two seats or Lambi alone? People would call you a coward if you contest from two seats).”
Amarinder later tweeted: “While a formal announcement is awaited from AICC, I’m ready to file my nomination from Lambi on the 18th. See you all there!”