Navjot Singh Sidhu vs Bikram Singh Majithia: Poll battle gets tougher in Punjab’s Amritsar East assembly constituency

Making the battle tough, SAD (B) has fielded former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia against Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu from Amritsar East constituency.

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Amritsar: Ahead of Punjab Assembly polls, Amritsar East assembly constituency has come under focus after SAD (B) announced to field former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia against state Congress Committee president Navjot Singh Sidhu from the seat.

Party has already announced to field Majithia from Majitha assembly constituency but given the stakes and make Sidhu concentrate more in Amritsar East assembly constituency instead of focusing on pan-state poll campaign for Congress, the SAD (B) think tanks deemed it fit to field Majithia against Sidhu.

After announcing Majithia’s name, SAD(B) president Sukhbir Singh Badal had stated Navjot Sidhu’s “arrogance will be his downfall”. He has been harping on his voice to have support among the masses but now his support will be tested with ‘Majha da sher’ taking him on in his home constituency”, Badal said adding that Akali’s would not only break his arrogance but also ensure that his security deposit was forfeited.

A senior Akali leader informed that party had convened a meeting on Thursday before officially beginning the poll campaigning in the Amritsar East assembly constituency.

Talking about the local issues of the constituency, Sukhbir Badal claimed that Sidhu had done nothing for the constituency. “He did not do anything in his constituency even as local bodies’ minister. Amritsar East has drinking water and even sewerage issues which have not been addressed by Sidhu. Now the people of his constituency will hold him to count,” said Badal.

After the announcement of his name, Bikram Singh Majitha expressed gratitude towards his brother-in-law Sukhbir Singh Badal and tweeted, “I express my gratitude to Akali Dal Chief  Sukhbir S Badal ji for giving me the opportunity to contest from Amritsar East constituency. Akali have a brave history of fighting to safeguard the rights of Punjab and protecting them from anti-Punjab elements like @sherryontopp”. 

It is learnt that Majithia had long ago started preparations to contest from Amritsar East assembly constituency and his poll strategists and an army of Personal Assistants (PA), media advisors have already made an elaborate plan to contest elections after minutely studying the details of the constituency. 

If sources are to believed Akali’s had also conducted an online and offline pre-poll survey in the constituency and has set up an exclusive media management cell and after the official announcement of Majithia’s candidature from the Amritsar East assembly constituency, SAD(B) president Sukhbir Singh has appointed Gurpreet Randhawa as the election in-charge for Majithia.

Going by history, Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wife Navjot  Kaur Sidhu had won the assembly seat from Amritsar East in 2012 when she was fielded by BJP. 

Kaur had won 33,406 votes while her closest candidate was an independent Simarpreet Kaur who polled 26,307. Before the next assembly elections in 2017, the Sidhu couple had shifted loyalty to Congress and Navjot Singh Sidhu was fielded by Congress to contest from Amritsar East assembly constituency and had bagged a whopping 60,477 votes against his nearest rival BJP-SAD(B) candidate Rajesh Kumar Honey who was polled only 17,668 votes.