‘No room for third front in Punjab’
: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday said third front has no space in Punjab’s political landscape and the contest will be between their party and the Congress in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
On the sidelines of a workers’ meeting at Balbehra village in the Sanaur assembly segment, Sukhbir said, “The third front will be decimated as the people of the state will never accept them. The political history of the state stands testimony to the fact that the third front failed to leave any mark in politics here.”
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rebel Sukhpal Singh Khaira’s Punjabi Ekta Party, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Lok Insaaf Party of the Bains brothers, SAD (Taksali) and Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi’s Punjab Manch are part of the alliance.
“The AAP tried to project itself as third front in the 2017 assembly elections, but it exploded like a ‘failed human bomb’. The Congress is our main competitor. The security deposit of AAP and third front candidates will be forfeited in the elections,” he said. Over former army chief Gen JJ Singh joining the SAD (Taksali), Sukhbir said people of Patiala know JJ Singh better as he contested from the segment on SAD ticket in 2017. “His joining will not affect us as he will stay there for only two months,” Sukhbir said.
“The Congress government completely failed to meet the promises made at the time the assembly elections. It seems that chief minister Amarinder Singh has no control over his government, as everyone from employees to farmers is waiting for pending dues,” he claimed.