SAD to contest Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat on party symbol for the first time since 1996

Chandigarh: After breaking the alliance with the BJP, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is going to contest from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat on the party’s symbol ‘Takri’ for the first time since 1996.

The Akali Dal is set to take on its former ally on the seat which has used ‘star power’ to grab the seat on several occasions. The Shiromani Akali Dal had joined hands with the BJP in 1996. The BJP used to contest from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur as part of the seat-sharing arrangement for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has fielded party’s senior vice-president and veteran leader Daljit Singh Cheema from the seat. “The SAD workers are excited about the party fielding its candidate from Gurdaspur and are happy to see the party’s election symbol ‘takdi’,” Cheema told a news agency.

Rejecting the BJP’s description of him as an outsider, Cheema said he was born in Mari Buchian village in Sri Hargobindpur and studied in the village school. Cheema said he had contested for the first time in 2002 from Sri Hargobindpur assembly seat in Gurdaspur.