With the Shiromani Akali Dal likely to announce newly inducted leader Satpal Mal as the candidate from Kartarpur assembly segment, the sitting party MLA Sarwan Singh Phillaur has put his foot down and declared that he won’t contest from any other seat.
“If I contest, I will do so only from Kartarpur. I’ve only heard the media saying Mal will contest from Kartarpur. There is no such communication to me from the party,” said Phillaur.
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According to sources, when talks of Mal joining SAD were on, a few poll managers had offered Phillaur to shift his base to Jagraon in Ludhiana district.
Even Phillaur told HT that he was asked to move to the Jagraon seat. “But I refused because I don’t have a base in Ludhiana district,” said Phillaur.
The leader, who resigned as cabinet minister in 2014 after his son Damanjit Singh’s name cropped up in the Bhola drug racket, had won thrice from Phillaur assembly. However, in 2012, he was shifted to Kartarpur where he won.
Phillaur had also skipped the gathering of Akali leaders at Mal’s house where deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia had come to induct the Congress leader into the party.
{{/usCountry}}Phillaur had also skipped the gathering of Akali leaders at Mal’s house where deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia had come to induct the Congress leader into the party.
{{/usCountry}}Sources in the SAD said Jagraon MLA Ram Kaler was also interested in contesting from Kartarpur and was lobbying hard to get the seat. Meanwhile, for Mal, contesting from Kartarpur will be a tough task even as he claims to enjoy the full support of politically important Dera Sachkhand Ballan – a Ravidassia community dera.