Already losing out its two of the four sitting MPs besides several other senior leaders rebelling against it, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday decided to field its tried and tested soldiers for the May 19 electoral battle in Punjab.
Formally announcing the names of five candidates while releasing the first list, SAD president Sukhbir Badal on Monday maintained that the candidates for the remaining fve parliamentary constituencies the party contests in alliance with the BJP will be announced shortly.
SAD contest elections in a pre-poll alliance with the BJP in Punjab. As per the seat sharing arrangement between the two, SAD contests on 10 out of total 13 Lok Sabha seats, while BJP fields its candidates on three.
The party had already declared the candidatures of Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur and Lok Sabha’s former Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal from Khadoor Sahib, and Jalandhar (reserve) respectively.
However, the official announcement was made by the party chief on Monday along with the names of former Cabinet Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra for Patiala, and retired IAS officer Darbara Singh Guru for Fatehgarh Sahib (reserve).