Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal on Saturday announced seven candidates in SADs first list for the Lok Sabha election. Conspicuously, though the
Akali Dal has currently two sitting MPs Sukhbir Singh Badal from Ferozepur and former Union minister and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal from Bathinda seat- this list did not name the candidates for the two seats. Punjab has 13 LS seats.
The list includes Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, a senior leader, who was also a minister in the SAD-BJP government. He has been fielded from Gurdaspur.
Prem Singh Chandumajra, an MP from Anandpur Sahib in 2014, has been renominated. NK Sharma, a two-time MLA from Derabassi has been fielded from Patiala.
While Anil Joshi, who was also a minister in the SADBJP government, has been fielded from Amritsar, twotime MLA Iqbal Singh Jhoonda has been fielded from Sangrur. Former MLA Bikramjit Singh Khalsa has been fielded from Fatehgarh Sahib, and first-timer Rajwinder Singh is in the fray from Faridkot.
BSP Names One
The Bahujan Samaj Party also announced state general secretary Jagjit Chharbarh as its candidate from Patiala. BSP, a former SAD ally, is going solo this time.
Pertinently, SAD and BJP are also contesting the poll separately first time since 1996. The two parties severed ties in 2020 over now-repealed farm laws.
Otherwise INDIA constituents, Congress and AAP are also contesting separately. So far, the ruling AAP has announced nine candidates and BJP six nominees.
