Sukhbir Singh Badal, the head of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), announced Baljit Singh Jalalusma as the party’s candidate for the Baba Bakala constituency in the Punjab assembly elections on February 20.
Read also- Golfer Sadom leads Asian Tour qualifiers for 150th Open, Indias Veer misses out
Jalalusma is an ex-MLA from the Jandiala Guru constituency and a former member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
As a result, the party has declared 95 candidates so far. Candidates for two seats —- Lambi and Amritsar East —- are yet to be announced. Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal represents Lambi, while Punjab Congress chairman Navjot Singh Sidhu represents Amritsar East.
The announcement of the candidate for Baba Bakala took some time since party cadres were split between Jalalusma and Manjit Singh Manna, who had previously served as MLA in the constituency. Baba Bakala is in the Amritsar area, and the SAD president met with followers of both Jalalusma and Manna on his latest visit to try to resolve the matter. Later, an agreement was achieved on the name Jalalusma.
Read also- Dharma Sansad case: Plea in SC seeks SIT probe into hate speeches against Hindus
The SAD is contesting 97 seats out of a total of 117, while the BSP is contesting 20. After breaking relations with the BJP over the (now repealed) three farm laws, the SAD formed a pre-poll coalition with the BSP last year.
