After kickstarting its election campaign in Delhi Assembly elections this week, the Shiromani Akali Dal stalwarts will join the party leaders and workers to give a big boost to their canvassing.
SAD patron and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy son and party president Sukhbir Badal would join the election campaign in the National Capital from Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
“The SAD patron and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal would start their election campaign in favour of SAD-BJP combine candidates from November 26 and 27, respectively,” said SAD secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema on Sunday.
He said that Badal would hold election meetings in favour of SAD-BJP combine candidates on November 26, 27, 28, 29 and December 2; while Sukhbir would start addressing election meetings from November 27 and would address meetings on November 28 and 29 also in different areas.
Only on Friday, the SAD convened a high-level meeting to chalk out its Delhi election strategy.
The SAD’s entire rank and file, including Chief Minister Badal, Sukhbir, Cabinet Ministers, party’s vice-presidents, general secretaries and secretaries, besides party’s member of Parliaments, MlAs, chief parliamentary secretaries are camping in Delhi to ensure party’s victory.
Even as the Akali Dal is contesting on four seats out of the total 70 in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the stakes are high as it has virtually forced its alliance partner to give up its seat — that eventually cost the saffron party its four-time legislator. The four-time MlA from Hari Nagar and former industry minister in BJP Government between 1993 and 1998, Harsharan Singh Balli joined Congress, in fallout of adamant SAD to field its own candidate from Hari Nagar, and is now contesting from his bastion.
Considering this, the Akali Dal is in no mood to take any chance to prove the unrelenting decision in good order.
The party has fielded youth leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa from west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden, Shyam lal Sharma from Hari Nagar, Harmeet Singh Kalka from Kalkaji and Jatinder Singh Shanty from Shahdara assembly segment. While Sirsa and Sharma would contest polls on SAD symbol — the weighing scales — Kalka and Shanty will be contesting polls on the BJP’s symbol —lotus.
The SAD’s main agenda for the elections would be the age-old issue of 1984 riots, besides restoration of teaching of Punjabi language as a subject in universities and affiliated colleges in Delhi, and protecting minorities’ rights, among others.