Chandigarh: The Sehajdhari Sikh Party on Thursday jumped into the poll fray by releasing its first list of 21 candidates for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.

"The party has fought a long legal battle to revive the voting rights of the Sehajdhari or non-baptised Sikhs," party's president P S Ranu said.

"As per the latest census 2011, there are 1.74 crore Sikhs in Punjab where only 55 lakh were enrolled by the Gurudwara Election Commission as Sikh voters in the SGPC elections...now it's the time that these 80 lakh Sikhs will definitely show their strength," Ranu claimed in a release.

While making it clear that they will oppose the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, Ranu said that options to seek support from other parties who support the cause of Sehajdharis will remain open.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) also announced its decision to contest the upcoming polls and released names of 14 candidates at a news conference in Patiala.

PTI