The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday declared its candidates for seven parliamentary constituencies in Punjab as the party released its first list for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
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The party has decided to field senior party leader and former Minister Daljit Singh Cheema from Gurdaspur, while Prem Singh Chandumajra would be contesting from Anandpur Sahib.
Former Minister Anil Joshi has been fielded from Amritsar constituency while former legislator N.K. Sharma will contest from Patiala. Iqbal Singh Jhunda is the party candidate in Sangrur constituency. Bikramjit Singh Khalsa will contest from Fatehgarh Sahib and Rajwinder Singh from Faridkot constituency.
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Mr. Cheema said SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has announced a list of seven senior leaders of the party as candidates for the general election. “Choosing the historic and pious occasion of ‘Khalsa Sirjana Divas’ as the most suited day to sound the poll bugle, he released the first list of candidates,” he said.
The election for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1.
After speculations about old allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and SAD again joining hands ahead of the election were put to rest, both the parties are now in the electoral fray against each other.
The SAD and the BJP were alliance partners since 1996. However, the controversy over the Centre’s now-repealed agriculture sector laws led to the SAD breaking away from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition in 2020.