Need stable, strong govt at Centre in 2024: Captain Amarinder Singh

PTI

Chandigarh, May 3

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that 2024 Lok Sabha election are crucial as country needs stable and strong government which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is already providing.

The Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief was addressing a meeting taking stock of the prevailing situation in the state and also reviewed the performance of the party candidates who contested the February Punjab assembly election.

The state BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma also attended the meeting, a PLC release said.

Singh said, given the geopolitical situation prevailing in the world, in view of the Russia-Ukraine war, the country needed a stable, mature and strong leadership, which Prime Minister Modi is providing.

The PLC and its ally, the BJP, will jointly fight the upcoming elections to be held for four municipal corporations of Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar and Jalandhar, said Singh.

Notably, the PLC failed to win any seat in Punjab in the last election. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had stormed to power in the state winning 92 of the 117-assembly seats. 

Singh said, while people of Punjab had voted overwhelmingly for the AAP with great expectations, "there is already a strong sense of disillusionment against the government sooner than it was expected".

"Not only has the AAP government backed out on several promises and commitments, it has also hurt the pride of Punjabis by usurping their power and rights," he alleged.

"Punjabis will never tolerate an outsider like Arvind Kejriwal running the government from Delhi," said Singh.

 He pointed out "how Kejriwal was conducting the meetings of Punjab officers in Delhi and issuing commands to them."

"It is unconstitutional and it is unacceptable," he said, while adding, "The way Kejriwal is running the government will run Punjab into ground."

Responding to the demands of party leaders that he should start moving across the state, Amarinder said, he will soon be announcing his statewide programme.

In the first round, he said, he will visit all the district headquarters followed by assembly segments.

Addressing the meeting, Subhash Sharma said although the BJP-PLC alliance could not win many seats, a strong foundation has already been laid down.

He said, while the immediate focus will definitely be on the Municipal election due within less than a year, the alliance will be a formidable force in 2024 General election.

He predicted that 2024 election in Punjab will primarily be between the BJP-PLC alliance and the AAP with Congress and the Akali being reduced to margins.

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