Amritsar: Unfazed by the Congress` rout in Punjab Assembly elections, PPCC chief Amarinder Singh on Tuesday claimed that the party will sweep all the four municipal corporations going to the polls on June 10.
He also warned the ruling SAD-BJP alliance in the state against any attempt at intimidating Congress workers at the time of elections, saying they were geared up to retaliate in equal measure.
Talking to the media before launching Congress` campaign here, Amarinder claimed the morale in the party`s ranks was at an all time high saying this reflected in the large number of party candidates applying for 250 corporation seats.
Congress had suffered a drubbing at the hands of SAD-BJP alliance in the Punjab Assembly elections which saw the combine returning to power for the second consecutive term.
Ridiculing Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal`s claims that so many Congressmen were willing to join the Akali Dal, the PCC President remarked, "He seems to be living n a fool?s paradise."
One or two leaders joining SAD here and there does not mean that the entire Congress was joining his party, he said.
Claiming that Congress candidates who had withdrawn in favour of the Akalis or the BJP had done it under coercion and duress, he said, "The Akalis and BJP have been trying to use all the dirty tricks in the trade to force withdrawal by Congress candidates.
They have succeeded only at some places, while they have attempted it everywhere," he said.
He stated that the very fact that the Akalis and the BJP are so desperate to force Congress candidates to withdraw is indicative of their imminent defeat.
"If they had been confident of victory they would never have tried to buy or force withdrawals," he said.
PTI
