CHANDIGARH, Jan 31: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, his predecessors Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal, and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal filed their nomination papers on Monday for the February 20 assembly polls.
Channi, who is contesting from two seats, submitted his nomination papers from the Bhadaur (SC) seat in Barnala district and the Congress leader said he has come with a “mission” in Malwa.
The nomination process, which started on January 25, will continue till February 1. Voting for Punjab’s 117 Assembly seats will be held on February 20 and the counting will take place on March 10.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal (94) became the country’s oldest candidate to fight elections as he filed his nomination papers from Lambi, which the 11-time MLA has been representing since 1997.
Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who has floated Punjab Lok Congress and is fighting the elections in an alliance with the BJP after parting ways with the Congress, filed his nomination papers from Patiala Urban Assembly constituency.
SAD’s Sukhbir Singh Badal filed his nomination papers from the Jalalabad Assembly constituency in Punjab’s Fazilka district.
After filing his nomination papers from Bhadaur, Channi said “I have come with a mission in Malwa (region),” and noted that the area is backward in terms of development.
“Though Capt (Amarinder Singh) and Badal sahib (Parkash Singh Badal) were there, the area lacked development,” he said while promising to uplift the area.
Channi said he has come like ‘Sudama’ and hoped that people of the Malwa region will take care of him like ‘Lord Krishna’.
Later, the chief minister posted his picture seeking blessings at Rudra Shiv Temple Pathran Wali.
“We will register a big win in Malwa,” said Channi who was flanked by senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Pawan Bansal, whose son Manish Bansal is the party contestant from Barnala.
In a tweet, Channi wrote, “I seek blessings of people of the constituency. Let us work together towards transforming Bhadaur”.
Asked about Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s claim that he will lose from Chamkaur Sahib seat, Channi dared the AAP leader to contest against him from any constituency in Punjab.
Kejriwal on Sunday had taken a jibe at Channi for contesting from two seats, saying he was losing from the Chamkaur Sahib (SC) seat which the Congress leader currently represents.
The Congress had on Sunday fielded Channi from the second assembly seat Bhadaur. Channi is also contesting from his home turf Chamkaur Sahib seat.
By fielding Channi from Bhadaur seat, the party was eying electoral gains in the politically significant Malwa region, which also has a good presence of Dalits in addition to their concentration in the Doaba area.
Meanwhile, Parkash Singh Badal, a five-time chief minister, completed the paperwork before the returning officer of Malout in Muktsar district, officials said.
With this, he broke former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan’s record of being the oldest candidate in the fray, the CPI(M) leader was 92 years old when he fought the Assembly polls in 2016.
Amarinder Singh was accompanied by Union Minister and BJP’s Punjab election in-charge Gajendra Singh Shekhawat when he went to file his nomination papers from Patiala Urban seat.
Amarinder had been winning from Patiala since 2002 on a Congress ticket.
The 79-year-old scion of the erstwhile Patiala royal family served as chief minister of Punjab twice.
He, however, could not complete his tenure as the Congress unseated him from the post in September amid a bitter power tussle with Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
After filing his nomination papers, Amarinder Singh trashed Channi’s claims over welfare works, alleging that the current Congress Government is taking credit for the works which were done when he was the Chief Minister of the State.
“With the Narendra Modi Government set to remain at the Centre for at least another seven years, the PLC could transform the state with their support if voted to power,” he said.
Parkash Singh Badal’s son and SAD chief Sukhbir Badal was accompanied by his wife and former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal when he filed nomination papers before the returning officer in Jalalabad.
Talking to reporters, Badal said the Jalalabad Assembly constituency is like his family.
Sukhbir Badal, a sitting MP from Ferozepur, had represented Jalalabad assembly constituency thrice in 2009 (by-election), 2012 and 2017.
Badal, the former Deputy Chief Minister, had quit as a legislator in 2019 after becoming an MP. (PTI)
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