The Dhuri Assembly by-poll has once again brought to the fore the old rivalry between two senior Akali leaders of Punjab – Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and former Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala – with the latter fielding his grandson Simarpreet Singh as the Congress candidate against BJP-SAD’s candidate Gobind Singh Longowal.
Speaking at a function in Patiala, Mr. Badal took on his former colleague-turned-foe saying Mr Barnala, who was made Chief Minister, Governor and a Union Cabinet Minister by the party, had backstabbed the Shiromani Akali Dal by allying with the Congress.
“Probably Mr Barnala was the only leader who was given all respect and recognition by the Akali Dal but in return he ditched the party by fielding his grandson as an official candidate of the Congress for the Dhuri by-election,” he said.
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The by-poll on April 11 was necessitated by the resignation of sitting Congress MLA Arvind Khanna, who runs an immensely popular NGO Umeed Foundation in the constituency.
There are a total of 14 candidates in the fray including Communist Party of India’s Sukhdev Ram Sharma. The Aam Aadmi Party, despite winning four Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 polls, had decided not to contest the by-election.
The Congress candidate is being backed by several opposition parties, barring the Left.
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