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SAD (A) to support radical preacher Amritpal from Khadoor Sahib seat
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) on Sunday said it will support radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who has decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency as an Independent candidate
Chandigarh : The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) on Sunday said it will support radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who has decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency as an Independent candidate.
Talking to the media, SAD (A) chief Simranjit Singh Mann said his party will withdraw its candidate from the seat after Amritpal files his nomination papers.
The SAD (A) had earlier announced Harpal Singh Baler as its candidate from the Khadoor Sahib seat.
Amritpal, chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’, was arrested in April last year. He along with nine of his associates is currently lodged in the Dibrugarh jail in Assam.
The SAD (A) also said his party has decided to field Kunwar Jagvir Singh Sahungra from the Jalandhar (reserve) Lok Sabha seat and Gurinder Singh Bajwa from Gurdaspur. With this, the SAD (A) has announced candidates on all 13 seats in Punjab.
Mann said Amritpal’s family approached him seeking support in contesting the polls, to which the party held consultations and agreed. He added that the party would provide support in filing nominations, offering him the party symbol ‘bucket’ and helping him during the campaigning.
On being asked why the party has decided to support Amritpal, Mann said he has been wrongfully booked under the National Security Act. “He (Amritpal) was engaged in dharam parchaar, and was fighting against social evils,” Mann said.
