Naresh Gujral defends Sukhbir Badal over action against Adesh Partap Kairon

Jalandhar, May 28

Claiming that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is set to get back its lost vote share in the Lok Sabha elections this time, former Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral has said the party is expected to do fairly well even in several urban segments of Punjab.

Gujral, who has come to his hometown Jalandhar to campaign for his party, said, “I am expecting the Akali Dal will get 7-8 of the total 13 seats, including Bathinda, Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Patiala and Ferozepur. For us, the Lok Sabha poll is the semi-finals. Our finals are due in 2027 and we shall regain our hold in the state.” The SAD’s vote share in 2019 was 27.8 per cent, which had fallen to 18.5 pc in the 2022 poll.

Having remained a go-to man of SAD whenever there was a crisis between the party and its former ally BJP, Gujral said, “I am really proud of my party president Sukhbir to have stood on his principles of not bowing down before the saffron party without having got anything for the farmers or on Panthic issues. The farmers are not getting the MSP on more crops that they have been asking for. There is no word on the release of bandi Sings languishing in jails for over 30 years without even getting a parole. So, there was no point of compromising for political gains.”

Son of former Prime Minister IK Gujral, he sided with Sukhbir on the issue of expulsion of his brother-in-law Adesh Partap Kairon. “For the party, everything is secondary as discipline comes first. Having relations with someone does not mean that the person will be spared in election time.”