Manpreet, Maluka stay away from canvassing

Ex-minister Sikander Singh Maluka suspended his political activities after he was removed by the Shiromani Akali Dal as halqa in-charge of the Maur assembly segment, a key constituent of the Bathinda seat, last month.

As campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections ends on Thursday, Manpreet Badal from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sikander Singh Maluka from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were conspicuous by their absence from the canvassing for candidates of their respective parties in the high-stakes Bathinda constituency.

Manpreet’s bitter relations with the BJP’s district president Sarup Chand Singla are said to be one of the reasons why the former finance minister stayed away from campaigning for BJP candidate Parampal Kaur Sidhu.

The five-time legislator Manpreet had joined the saffron party in January last year. He suffered a heart attack on March 19 this year and since then has maintained a low profile. Manpreet’s sister-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal, an SAD candidate, is seeking a fourth consecutive win from Bathinda. Manpreet posted a video message on his Facebook page on May 19 urging his supporters to work for the victory of the ‘kamal da phul’ (referring to the party’s symbol Lotus) after questions were raised over his absence from electioneering. Manpreet’s bitter relations with the BJP’s district president Sarup Chand Singla are said to be one of the reasons why the former finance minister stayed away from campaigning for BJP candidate Parampal Kaur Sidhu, who is the daughter-in-law of Akali stalwart Sikander Singh Maluka.

Manpreet first appeared on May 19 to attend an election rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in favour of party candidate Preneet Kaur and thereafter, toured the parliamentary seats of Ludhiana, Amritsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur but was not spotted in any of the election meetings in Bathinda.

Maluka plays truant

Ex-minister Maluka suspended his political activities after he was removed as halqa in-charge of the Maur assembly segment, a key constituent of the Bathinda seat, last month. SAD president Sukhbir Badal’s action came after his daughter-in-law, Parampal Kaur, was named as BJP candidate from Bathinda.

Maluka, who is head of the party’s disciplinary committee, first flew to Dubai and during the peak campaigning last week, Maluka indirectly canvassed for his daughter-in-law when he went against the party line and praised PM Narendra Modi as a pro-Sikh leader.