Patiala: As election fever catches up in Punjab, Congress party's biggest rebel Malwinder Singh, the younger brother of state Congress chief Amarinder, is busy drawing the battle-line against his nephew who overtook him in the race for Saman Assembly segment ticket.

Malwinder sounded the poll bugle against PCC president and his brother Amarinder Singh.

"I will begin my campaign from Rajpura on Sunday and will also canvass for Shiromani Akali Dal in Samana where Raninder (Amarinder's son) is contesting," said Malwinder.

Speaking up for the first time since January 7 when he abandoned his party of 35 years to join his brother's arch rivals, the Akalis, Malwinder said that he will campaign against Congress across Punjab, including Samana.

Not just that, the former Congressman is set to give his brother more headache as he is more than comfortable in contesting the next Lok Sabha polls from Patiala, now represented by his brother's wife and union minister Preneet Kaur.

Quick to convert Malwinder's hurt at being not given a Congress ticket into political capital, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal offered him nomination for Patiala Lok Sabha seat and the former Congressman has readily agreed.

"The Badals have offered me this seat and I am game for it. I am right now acclimatising to the new party and workers," he said.

The Patiala Lok Sabha seat has traditionally remained a stronghold of the Patiala royals - earlier represented once each by Amarinder Singh and his mother Mohinder Kaur and thrice by his wife Preneet Kaur.

Unrepentant about his move to defect from Congress to join the Shiromani Akali Dal, Malwinder said "the decision was a heart-breaking one and was taken after deep introspection."

Ruling out any scope for reconciliation with Congress, the younger representative of the erstwhile Patiala royal family said "I arrived at this decision after a lot of thought. I don't take decisions in haste. There is no going back now. It is out of question.

"I nursed Samana with a lot of hope and expectation of being declared the party's official candidate for this election but when that did not happen, I had to take some hard decisions", said Malwinder.

Malwinder Singh, the once loyal foot soldier of Congress and a virtual shadow of his elder brother, feels he never quite got what he deserved.

In the long political career that was mostly spent in the background as a party worker, Malwinder Singh has only fought one election - that of Chandigarh Golf Club President, the post he currently holds. He had earlier too remained President of the prestigious Club.

The family of Amarinder Singh is, however, silent on Malwinder's issue.

When asked, both Preneet Kaur and her daughter Jai Inder Kaur refused to comment while Raninder Singh merely said "I respect my uncle. I have nothing more to say on this matter."

PTI