Aam Aadmi Party has announced Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann will fight the election against Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in the upcoming state assembly election.
On the first day of his ten-day Punjab tour, AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced Bhagwant Mann’s name as a nominee from wherever Sukhbir Badal contests from. Mr Kejriwal was addressing a rally in Jalalabad, the constituency represented by Mr Badal.
“I propose Bhagwant Mann to be the candidate against Sukhbir Badal from wherever he contests,” said Mr Kejriwal while addressing party supporters.
Bhagwant Mann, who was suspended from the parliament for allegedly jeopardising the security of the house after he posted a video of the parliament on Facebook, said he was fortunate to have the opportunity to rid Punjab of the Badal family’s misrule.
“I consider myself lucky that I am able to make some contribution to this fight for Punjab,” said Mr Mann.
Sukhbir Badal, in a statement, said, Bhagwant Mann was being put up as a proxy and he wouldn’t be able to give any fight to the incumbent Deputy CM.
Sukhbir challenged AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal to contest against him.
“You can easily test your popularity by contesting against me from Jalalabad. Why don't you make a statement regarding this during your ongoing visit to Punjab? Let the people also know your mettle. Are you only good at fighting others through proxies or do you have it in you to bite the bullet too,” said Mr Badal.
Sukhbir Badal won the Jalalabad seat by a massive margin during the last two elections.
Bhagwant Mann also challenged Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh to contest election against him in Jalalabad.
Punjab, in a long time, is set to witness a three-way fight in the upcoming state assembly election with AAP gaining a massive popularity in the state replete with anti-incumbency against the Shiromani Akali Dal government that has been in power since 2007.
Congress Party led by former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh is keen to wrest power this time having faced a shocking defeat in the 2012 election which went against most poll surveys.
