Page 2 - Shiromani Akali Dal

LS elections: Punjab records nearly 38% turnout, Chandigarh 40% until 1 pm

Polling began on Saturday morning for 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab and the lone Chandigarh seat in the seventh and final phase of parliamentary elections. Amid tight security arrangements, polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, said the officials. INDIA bloc allies -- the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) -- are contesting separately while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls on their own for the first time since 1996. The Sukhbir Badal-led SAD walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020 over the now-repealed three farm laws. Besides the Congress, AAP, SAD and the BJP, two other parties -- SAD (Amritsar) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) -- have also fielded their candidates. Punjab is going to witness a multi-cornered contest on all the 13 Lok Sabha seats. The AAP, Congress, SAD, BJP, BSP and the SAD (Amritsar) are contesting in all the constituencies of Punjab. However, the .

LS polls: Badal bahu Harsimrat fights for 4th term from Bathinda seat

Three-time MP and Akali leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal speaks about bringing AIIMS, a central university, and other projects as some of her achievements as she braces for a multi-cornered electoral bout to get elected from the Bathinda parliamentary constituency for the fourth time in a row. She also invokes her late father-in-law and five-time Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, reminding voters that he used to remain among the public to address their issues. The Bathinda parliamentary constituency, which goes to polls on June 1, is considered a stronghold of the Shiromani Akali Dal with its candidate Harsimrat, the wife of party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, winning this seat since 2009. The 2024 Lok Sabha election is going to be a litmus test for Harsimrat, who seeks to retain the Bathinda seat as her political rivals are trying to breach SAD's fortress. This time the BJP, which used to be an ally of the SAD, has also fielded its candidate from the Bathinda parliamentary ...

Musical chairs, gen-next politicians look to shake up Punjab's poll fray

The churn in Punjab politics has been the biggest among the states ahead of the Lok Sabha polls

Battleground 2024: Of four parties and Amritpal in Punjab's Khadoor Sahib

Many parties, especially the SAD, believe that Amritpal contesting would cut their votes

SAD to contest Gurdaspur LS seat on party symbol for 1st time in decades

After snapping ties with the BJP, the Akali Dal is all set to contest the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat on party symbol 'takdi' or scales for the first time since 1996 as it braces for a showdown with its former ally which has used star power to clinch the seat on numerous occasions. The Shiromani Akali Dal had joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1996. As part of the seat-sharing arrangement for the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of Punjab, the BJP used to contest from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. The SAD walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws. The SAD walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws. The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD has placed its bet on the party's senior vice president and veteran leader Daljit Singh Cheema from the seat. The SAD workers are enthusiastic over the party fielding its own candidate from Gurdaspur and are happy to see the party symbol ...

LS polls: SAD announces 5 more candidates; fields Harsimrat from Bathinda

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal on Monday announced his party's second list of five more candidates for Punjab and one for Chandigarh seat for the coming Lok Sabha polls, fielding his wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal from Bathinda. New entrant Mohinder Singh Kaypee was named the party candidate from the Jalandhar reserve parliamentary constituency. The SAD chief announced the names of candidates in Jalandhar, where Kaypee, former Punjab Congress chief, joined the Akali Dal on Monday. Badal named former MLA Ranjit Singh Dhillon from Ludhiana, former minister Sohan Singh Thandal from Hoshiarpur reserve seat and party leader Nardev Singh Bobby Mann from Ferozepur. Besides, he also named Hardeep Singh Saini from the Chandigarh parliamentary constituency. From Bathinda seat, three-time MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal will be facing BJP's Parampal Kaur Sidhu, AAP's Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and Congress nominee Jeet Mohinder Sidhu. "I have been serving as a Member of ..

LS polls: Shiromani Akali Dal announces 1st list of 7 candidates for Punjab

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday announced its first list of seven candidates, fielding senior party leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra from Anandpur Sahib and Daljit Singh Cheema from Gurdaspur. Besides, the SAD also named former MLA N K Sharma from Patiala, former minister Anil Joshi from Amritsar, Bikramjit Singh Khalsa from Fatehgarh Sahib, Rajwinder Singh from Faridkot and Iqbal Singh Jhoonda from Sangrur seat. The list of candidates was announced by party leader Daljit Singh Cheema in a post on X. Polling for 13 Lok Sabha seats will be held in the last phase on June 1.

Lok Sabha elections: Punjab set for a 4-way contest as BJP-SAD talks fail

The SAD-BJP alliance could have been potent with the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government facing significant anti-incumbency

LS polls: BJP to go solo in Punjab, says state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar

The BJP will contest the Lok Sabha polls on its own in Punjab, the party's state unit chief Sunil Jakhar said on Tuesday. The announcement came amid a buzz over talks between the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP for re-stitching their alliance for the parliamentary polls. Polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1, the last phase of the seven-phase elections. "The BJP is going to contest the Lok Sabha elections alone in Punjab," Jakhar said on X. He said this decision was taken by the BJP following feedback from people and party workers. "The works done by the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are not hidden from anyone," Jakhar said. The BJP leader also added that in the last 10 years, produce of farmers was procured at minimum support price.

No tie-up with BJP but 'like-minded parties' welcome: SAD chief Badal

Claiming that such speculations were only confined to social media platforms, Badal said his party was keen to continue its tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the state

Stir causes stirrings in Punjab politics

If everything goes according to plan, a resuscitated SAD could emerge as a central player in Punjab in three years.

Centre must fulfill promises made to farmers: Akali leader Daljit Cheema

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former education minister of Punjab, Daljit Singh Cheema, on Tuesday rendered support to farmers who have embarked on the 'Delhi Chalo' protest

Punjab's 'aam aadmi' most distressed in AAP regime, says SAD chief Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday said the 'aam aadmi' of Punjab were the most distressed in the AAP government's regime with people being denied even the basic facilities. The SAD president, who travelled across Tarn Taran and Khadoor Sahib assembly constituencies as part of the 'Punjab Bachao Yatra' said, "This government cannot aspire to represent the common man who is suffering in this regime which is being run by remote control from Delhi." Badal added that the "remote control" in Delhi is being used to "spread the wings of AAP across the country rather than fulfill the aspirations of the 'aam aadmi' (common man) in Punjab". Badal said infrastructure had gone to "rot" during the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regime, be it link roads or sewerage systems or even roads and streetlights in villages. He added that the poor were being denied social welfare benefits. The SAD president interacted with labourers who told him that they were the worst-affected in th

SAD leader Majithia appears before special SIT in Patiala in drugs case

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Tuesday appeared before a special investigation team of the Punjab Police in Patiala district in a drugs case. The former minister was summoned by the SIT led by Deputy Inspector General (Patiala range) Harcharan Singh Bhullar. Tight security arrangements were made around the police lines in Patiala ahead of the appearance of Majithia before the SIT. Several Akali workers had gathered at the spot to express solidarity with Majithia. Majithia was previously questioned by the SIT, led by the then additional director general of police Mukhwinder Singh Chhina, on December 30, 2023 in connection with the drugs case. Before that he was grilled by the SIT on December 18. The Punjab Police formed a new SIT under the chairmanship of Bhullar after Chhina retired on December 31. Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on December 20, 2021, when the then chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi-led .

SAD chief seeks PM's intervention to ensure cotton procurement at MSP

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and ensure that cotton should be procured at the minimum support price (MSP) in Punjab. In a statement here, the SAD president said it was shocking that instead of giving the MSP of Rs 6,920 a quintal for long-staple cotton, as was done earlier, the Cotton Corporation of India imposed a quality cut of Rs 150 and was giving the assured price of Rs 6,770 per quintal to farmers. Farmers in the Abohar belt were suffering because the CCI was procuring the produce in bits and spurts, he claimed. The procurement was stopped on November 30 and restarted on December 7 only, he said, adding that it again stopped on December 9. Badal said the repeated stoppage of procurement was forcing farmers to sell their crops to private players who were purchasing the produce in the price range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,200 per quintal. Farmers were forced to go in for distress sale as they could

SAD chief Badal sends legal notice to Punjab CM for 'malicious' allegations

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal sent a legal notice to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday, asking him to tender an unconditional apology within five days for levelling "malicious" allegations against the Badal family during a debate at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana. According to the notice, Badal will seek remedies as available in the law for causing wilful defamation and libel in case Mann fails to tender the apology. The legal notice was sent by Badal's lawyer, Arshdeep Singh Kler. The notice accuses Mann of defaming Badal and his family with his "false" and "malicious" allegation that an irrigation branch was created to carry canal water to the Badal farm in Haryana's Balasar village. The allegations were levelled by the chief minister during the "Main Punjab Bolda Haan" debate held at an auditorium of the PAU on November 1. Opposition leaders from the Congress, SAD and BJP had skipped the event. "In a pre-planned and ..

After ED summons Kejriwal, Akali Dal asks for probe into Punjab Excise scam

He also alleged the role of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha

Akali Dal asks Punjab Assembly speaker to train AAP MLAs on SYL canal issue

Akali Dal leader Cheema also took a dig at AAP Rajya Sabha MP, Sandeep Pathak for openly siding with Haryana on the issue

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Punjab CM Mann dares Opposition parties for a 'live debate on all issues'

He further said, "You can bring a paper with you but I will speak by word of mouth. November 1 'Punjab Day' will be a good day, you will also get time for preparation. I am fully prepared"