A boost to Akali Dal in Capt Amarinder’s bastion in Patiala
After a series of defeats, the turnout at the Patiala rally, which was highest in the recent times, has lifted the morale of party workers.
The Shiromani Akali Dal’s ‘Zabar Virodhi’ rally at chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s bastion has given a much needed boost to the party cadre, which was jolted by a series of defeats in recent times.

After a series of defeats, the turnout at the Patiala rally, which was highest in the recent times, has lifted the morale of party workers.
It has also established the leadership of former ministers Surjit Singh Rakhra and Harpal Juneja, who are heading the SAD rural and urban units, respectively, in Patiala.
Before the rally, party patron and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had toured every constituency in Patiala in the past two days, and met the party workers. Badal, along with Rakhra and Juneja, had visited Patran, Samana and Patiala on the first day. On day two, he had visited Nabha, Sanaur, Ghanaur, and Rajpura, apart from visiting the houses of SAD leaders to end any differences.
While addressing the party workers in Nabha, he reiterated that Kabir Dass will remain the face of the party and candidate for the assembly elections. The aim was to snub voices of people who were not working in tandem with Dass.
At Patiala (Urban), he supported Harpal Juneja, who is having a cold war with former district presidents Manmohan Singh Bajaj and Surjit Singh Kohli.
After the former CM, his son and party president Sukhbir Singh Badal held a series of rallies and visited different areas in Patiala to motivate party leaders to end their differences, and to ensure that there is a maximum gathering at the Patiala rally, that took place on Sunday.
It seems that their hardwork has paid off, as a large number of party workers converged at the rally.
“The time spent here by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was enough to boost the morale for our party workers and supporters, who were victims of massive riggings in last year’s urban polls and the recently concluded rural polls,” said Patiala (Urban) SAD president Harpal Juneja.
“This has proven that the Shromani Akali Dal has become stronger in the region and will give a befitting reply to the Congress,” he added. During the rally, SAD secretary Daljit Singh Cheema lauded the efforts of Juenja.
“The Badals spending almost 10 days in Patiala and interacting with party workers daily has given an impetus to the party. The workers have now geared up for the Lok Sabha polls that will take place in 2019,” Surjit Singh Rakhra said.
He added that the rally has once again proved that SAD has a strong base in the rural areas.
“Sukhbir Badal has mobilised the party workers. The party’s district cadre will work at the same pace and hold protests against the Congress government on public issues,” he added.
ABOUT THE AUTHORVishal RambaniVishal Rambani is an assistant editor covering Punjab. A journalist with over a decade of experience, he writes on politics, crime, power sector, environment and socio-economic issues. He has several investigative stories to his credit.Read More

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