Congress, SAD hopeful of winning Punjab polls

Amrinder Singh says if the rains affect his party, it will affect the Akalis and the BJP as well.

As rains lashed Punjab on the polling day on Tuesday creating fear among politicos about the way which their electoral fortunes shape up, the chief ministerial candidates of Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal exuded confidence in winning the polls with a thumping majority.

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While Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said his party would win about 70 seats, his arch rival and SAD's candidate for the top post Parkash Singh Badal said he was confident of his coalition's winnability.

"I am not only hopeful, I am confident and I am younger than most of the younger ones," Badal said.

Amarinder said rains would not play spoilsport to his party's chances. "If the rains affect us, it will affect the Akalis and the BJP as well. However, our voters are normally poor people and they tend to vote. You will find at the end that there will be no vote less in the Congress cap."

Expressing confidence that Congress will come back to power, Amarinder said, "I always said we are going to get 70 seats."

Amarinder is fighting from Patiala constituency and Badal from Lambi. The Congress is fighting 115 seats while main opposition SAD is battling it out on 92 seats. SAD's political ally BJP is contesting 23 seats.