Chandigarh: (PTI) A record number of 228 candidates were left in the fray for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state of Punjab, which goes to polls on November 26.
The number of contesting candidates this time is three times what it was in the 1985 Lok Sabha poll, when 76 candidates contested the 13 seats.
A total of 259 candidates with drew before the deadlines Thurs day, Prominent among them were Akali Dal (Longowal.) President Suyit Singh Barnala (Sangrur), Charanjit Singh Aliwal and Mewa Singh Gill., both United Akali Dal talking to Akali Dal for fear that it might affect its electoral prospects in the country.
While advocating the defeat of Congress (I), Sukhjinder Singh also criticized Janata Dal for its failure to give party ticket to any Sikh in Haryana or elsewhere in the country. It was a question mark on the secularism of Janata Dal, he said.
The Akali Dal leader bitterly criticized Janata Dal leader Devi Lal for his decision to contest from the Ferozepore Lok Sabha constituency.
Expressing surprise at Talwan di’s decision to support the Haryana Chief Minister, he said haryana was still involved in disputes with Punjab like territory and river waters.
The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Singh Sabha, the religious wings of the party, meanwhile, decided in the capital New Delhi to extend their full support to the ‘opposition parties in the elections.
At a meeting of the Akali Dal (Delhi) convened here by president Sardar Avtar Singh Hit, A seven member action committee was setup to assist in the election campaign
(Badal) from Ropar and Ludhiana respectively.
Bir Devinder Singh of Congress I withdrew from Sangrur and Patiala.
The prominent candidates left in fray are sitting Congress (I) member of Parliament R L Bhatia and Bharatiya Janata Party all India Vice President Dr Baldev Parkash (Amritsar), Former Union Minister I K Gujral (Jalan dhar), Haryana Chief Minister Devi Dal (Ferozepur) and Akali Dal (Badal) general secretary Sukhdey Singh Dhindsa (Sangtur).
Punjab state Congress (I) General Secretary Vinol Sharma, who was earlier expecting the Chandigarh seat, was allotted the Patiala seat in place of Surinder Kumar Singla.
Akali Dal (Mann) President Simranjit Singh Mann, who is detained on sedition charges, will contest the Tarn Taran seat. He is facing trial in the Indira Gandhi assassination conspiracy case. Another person facing trial in this case, Atinder Pal Singh is contest ing from Patiala.
Sucha Singh and Bimal Kaur Khalsa, father and wife of Beant
Singh are contesting from Bha tinda (SC) and Ropar (SC) res pectively.
Meanwhile, according to report from Jalandhar former Punjab Minister and Chairman of Akali Dal coordination committee Sukhjinder Singh has charged Akali Dal Chief Jagdev Singh Talwandi of trying to disrupt Sikh unity in Punjab.
He said the manner in which Talwandi had handled the sensitive issue of seat adjustments in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections was disgusting and would undo the tremendous sacrifices made by the Sikhs in the recent past.
Sukhjinder Singh, who withdrew his nomination papers from the Jalandhar parliamentary seat, told newsmen here that following Tal wandi’s actions there was every likelihood of violent clashes, leading to permanent bitterness in the Sikh Panth.
When asked about his reaction to Talwandi’s statement that his faction of Akaii Dal would support LK. Gujral (Janata Dal) in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat, Sukhjinder Singh said it could be Talwandi’s own decision and that it was not the party’s decision.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 10, 1989
