Captain to fight Punjab polls from stronghold Patiala; 'won't leave because of Sidhu'

As the Punjab assembly elections are around the corner, former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday said that he will be contesting from his stronghold Patiala. Outlining that his family has been living in Patiala for over 400 years now, Amarinder Singh added that he is not going to leave the Punjab district because of Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in Punjab in February-March 2022, to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. Besides the old parties like Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal, new parties like Punjab Lok Congress, Krantikari Mazdoor Kisan are also going to contest. 

Amarinder Singh shared a poster earlier in the day on his Facebook page, which roughly translates to, "I will contest from Patiala. My family has had a connection with Patiala for over 400 years now, and I am not going to break that connection because of Sidhu." It is pertinent to mention here that Captain Amarinder comes from the Royal family of Patiala and has been elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from the district thrice. The other two times he was elected from Samana and Talwandi Sabo. 

In April, in the midst of the feud that turned into a full-fledged crisis, Amarinder Singh had dared Navjot Singh Sidhu to contest from Patiala in the 2022 polls and predicted that he will lose his deposit.

Captain Amarinder quits Congress, announces his own party

Days after relinquishing the position of the Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh left Congress addressing an elaborate 7-page letter to party president Sonia Gandhi. In the letter, the former CM spoke at length of pinnacles the party achieved under him, including the landslide victory in the 2017 polls. He also outlined that the promises of the manifesto of the 2017 polls, had all been achieved under him. He also outlined in the letter how he was humiliated by Sonia and Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, who he claimed he still consider his children. He cited the humiliation as the reason to leave the party.

On the same day, Amarinder Singh announced his own party 'Punjab Lok Congress', which is awaiting approval for name and logo from the Election Commission. It is this party, with which, Captain Amarinder intends to contest the 2022 Punjab Elections, for which he has sought a seat-share alliance with the BJP, and other like-minded parties.