Punjab polls: Akali Dal dares Congress to name CM face; 'Sidhu blowing his own trumpet'

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday dared the Congress party to name its Chief Ministerial face claiming that PPCC Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu was 'blowing his trumpet every day.' Badal alleged that the people of Punjab were unhappy with incumbent CM Charanjit Singh Channi who was not even regarded as a 'bonafide CM' by his own party leadership. He stated that the state of Punjab had turned against the Congress and the part would 'self-destruct soon' in the lead up to the polls. 

“Channi wants to stick to the chair, but the party leadership does not regard him as a bonafide Chief Minister. Punjab Pradesh Congress president Navjot Sidhu is blowing his own trumpet and disrespecting Channi every day,” Sukhbir Singh Badal said.

“Punjabis have turned against the Congress because it has failed to implement any of the promises made to them. You will see it self-destruct in the coming days,” he added stating that Channi had 'lost the trust of not only of people but also the top Congress leadership of the state.'

The Akali Dal is at open war with the Congress after the latter booked its general secretary and legislator Bikram Singh Majithia in a drugs case, a move which has also been condemned by former CM Amarinder Singh. An FIR has been registered against him at the State Crime Police Station in Mohali's Bureau of Investigation, on the basis of a report submitted by the Special Task Force headed by IGP Harpreet Singh Sidhu, under Sections 25, 27A, and 29 of the NDPS Act. Notably, Majithia is also the brother of ex-union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

Punjab Assembly elections

In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could only manage to win 15 seats while the BJP secured three seats. Punjab is scheduled to elect its new Assembly representatives in 2022.

(With agency inputs)