Punjab polls: BJP rules out SAD tie-up, to fight solo in all 117 seats
AMRITSAR: Amid speculation over a possible revival of the alliance between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Rajya Sabha member and the party’s in-charge for Punjab and Haryana, Dr Satish Poonia, on Wednesday ruled out any tie-up with Sukhbir Badal’s party, saying the BJP would contest the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections on its own.Poonia also expressed concern over Punjab’s law and order situation and said the BJP was preparing an action plan to tackle the drug menace and narco-terrorism in the state.Poonia was in Amritsar on the final leg of his Punjab tour and paid obeisance at Sri Durgiana Temple, Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) and the Central Valmiki Temple.Dismissing reports about an alliance with the SAD or any other political party, Poonia said the BJP would contest all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab on the strength of its organisation and its own capabilities.Expressing concern over the alleged growing menace of drugs and corruption in Punjab, he said the party was preparing a dedicated and foolproof action plan to free the state from the drug menace and narco-terrorism.He said Punjab’s development, peace and communal harmony were among the BJP’s top priorities.Claiming that BJP-ruled states had witnessed rapid development, Poonia appealed to the people of Punjab to place their faith in the party’s “double-engine model”, keeping in mind the state’s progress and the security and future of the next generation.He said the BJP’s primary objective was to strengthen its organisational structure down to the booth level.Assuring party workers of support, Poonia said experienced leaders and new workers would work in coordination and that every dedicated worker would be given due respect and appropriate responsibilities.Poonia was accompanied by Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon, national vice-president Manpreet Singh Badal, BJP district president Salil Kapoor, former MP Harjinder Singh Thekedar and former Punjab BJP president Shwait Malik, among other leaders.Meanwhile, Dhillon launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, alleging that it had failed on every front.“AAP had promised to create a ‘Rangla Punjab’, but it has turned Punjab into a ‘Kangla Punjab’,” he alleged.Dhillon claimed that the crime graph had risen sharply since the AAP came to power and alleged that gangsters, extortionists and various mafias, including drug, sand and land mafias, were operating unchecked.
