Punjab polls: It's Majithia versus Sidhu in Amritsar East

Chandigarh, January 26

In what could be a mother of all political battles, ex-minister and senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia will take on Punjab Pradesh Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu from Amritsar (East).

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal made the announcement in Amritsar on Wednesday evening, hours after Majithia, who was booked in a drugs smuggling case, demanded that his case should be investigated by a panel of three DGPs—Dinkar Gupta, Prabodh Kumar, and VK Bhawra.

Majitjia will also contest the elections from the assembly segment Majithia, a seat he had represented in the Punjab Assembly in 2012 and then again in 2017.

Sukhbir also formally announced his father and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal as party’s candidate from the Badal family’s traditional seat of Lambi in Muktsar.

“Majithia is a Gur Sikh who has been wrongly implicated in a drugs case. Accused in drugs smuggling case. He will take on the congress state president Navjot Singh Sidhu who was instrumental in the political vendetta against Majithia. Sidhu will suffer a humiliating defeat,” Sukhbir announced.

Punjab is scheduled to vote on February 20. Votes will be counted on March 10.