Amritsar East assembly segment set to witness a fiery electoral contest between friends-turned-foes. Days after Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu challenged his arch-rival Bikram Singh Majithia to contest from Amritsar East seat only, SAD’s sitting Majitha MLA on Tuesday accepted the challenge while declaring his wife’s candidature from his home turf — Majitha.
Majithia, the three-time MLA from his bastion Majitha, has also been fielded as SAD-BSP combine candidate from Amritsar East assembly segment to challenge the sitting MLA Navjot Sidhu in his citadel.
Sidhu, on Sunday, had dared Majithia to leave his home turf and contest only from Amritsar East, to which Majithia had given indications saying, “there are still two days left for nominations...will fulfil Sidhu’s this wish also”. And on Tuesday, Majithia addressed the media to announce that he would only be contesting from Amritsar East while his wife, Ganieve Kaur, will replace him in Majitha.
Majithia has represented Majitha since 2007 and until now he has served three terms as the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from there.
Announcing his decision, Majithia made it clear that it was not because of Sidhu’s challenge, but because he had to chose one among the two in case he had won from both. “They used to ask me that if we vote for you and make you win, which constituency you would chose to retain...so i want to tell the voters of Amritsar East that they will be priority for me. I will work for Majitha, or Amritsar East, and or the entire Punjab, but yes, I will definitely become an MLA from Amritsar East,” he said.
Majithia, showing his old pictures with Sidhu laughing together and feeding ladoos, said that he would teach him love and laughing like this. “I want to end the politics of jealousy, hate here. There is too much of arrogance in Sidhu, I want to make him understand love. But I will fight for development only. Sidhu spent 18 years here, but did nothing to fulfil even a single promise he made to the people,” said Majithia adding that he promises that development like Majitha will be done in Amritsar East also.
When Sidhu was in BJP, he used to share cordial relations with Majithia. However, they fall out when SAD was in power in Punjab, and Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu was MLA from Amritsar East. Since then, the two have not only hurled stinging statements at each other but often clashed in the Punjab Assembly too. Sidhu has been campaigning for action against Majithia for the drug trafficking case. Majithia, popularly known as ‘Majhe Da Jarnail’ (general of Majha region) by Akalis, has been facing possible arrest in a drug case. However, on Monday, the Supreme Court directed Punjab Police not to arrest him till February 23 in view of the elections.
Majithia’s wife Ganieve Kaur had filed her papers on Monday from Majitha assembly constituency.