More than 100 Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders from Punjab are camping in Delhi to ensure the party makes its presence felt in the four Assembly seats it is contesting from when elections are held on December 4.
Buoyed by its victory in the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee elections, the party is now ready to spread its tentacles around the country. Thus the entire SAD rank and file, including Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his Deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal, cabinet ministers, party vice-presidents, general secretaries and secretaries, besides MPs, MLAs and parliamentary secretaries have descended on the national capital.
In answer to party president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s call, 101 leaders, besides the Badals, made a beeline for Delhi. Overnight, Punjab Bhawan in Delhi was transformed into an Akali Dal camp office with majority of leaders operating from there.
Party candidates are in the fray in Harinagar, Shahdara, Rajouri Garden and Kalkaji constituencies—with two fighting on the SAD symbol and two on the BJP symbol.
Explaining the party strategy, a senior leader said: “About 10 MLAs and ministers are campaigning in each constituency along with MPs and other leaders. The focus is more on Harinagar and Rajouri Garden as they are important constituencies.”
Party secretary and coordinator for the Delhi polls Daljeet Singh Cheema said it was everybody’s duty to campaign up to the booth level. “If we get a request to campaign for our alliance partner BJP in their constituencies then our leaders go there also,” he said, adding the Badals had campaigned for BJP candidates.
According to him, only two cabinet ministers—Janmeja Singh Sekhon and Sikandar Singh Maluka—have been spared from election duty as they are attending the kabaddi world cup being held in Bathinda.
Leading the Delhi brigade is Punjab revenue minister and Youth Akali Dal president Bikram Singh Majithia, who is also the brother-in-law of Sukhbir Singh Badal. Majithia is election in-charge of Rajouri Garden from where Manjinder Singh Sirsa, its Delhi youth wing president and general secretary of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) is fighting.
Besides Majithia, Sukhbir Singh Badal and Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma also addressed rallies in Khyala village for Sirsa. MLA Sohan Singh Thandal and other Hoshiarpur leaders have been doing door-to-door to seek votes for Sirsa.
The main issues SAD is focussing on are the 1984 riots, besides restoration of teaching of Punjabi as a subject in universities and affiliated colleges in Delhi and protecting minority rights.
Sukhbir Singh Badal has been particularly busy in Delhi. He addressed an election rally in favour of BJP candidate from Tilak Nagar Rajiv Babbar at Santgarh. He also addressed rallies for Sirsa at Chaukhandi and for Hari Nagar candidate Shyam Sharma at Fateh Nagar. In all his rallies he lashed at the Congress for entangling the nation in the vicious circle of poverty, corruption and economic crisis. He said BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi would prove to be the big push needed to break this vicious circle.
“SAD-BJP is all set to form the government in Delhi and the entire rank and file of SAD is campaigning for elections. The party is in direct contest with Congress, as AAP is nowhere,” Badal said.