Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has begun holding meetings in Bathinda, the seat she currently represents in the Parliament, in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls. While political experts saw in it a move to end the speculation over the constituency from where she will contest the Lok Sabha polls, Harsimrat said, “Many leaders (of other parties) are waiting to see from where I will contest and hence have not declared their candidates, while there are others whose sole agenda is to defeat me. I will keep them guessing before the actual announcement”. The Union minister, however, said that she had no reason to shift out of Bathinda. “Why should I run away from a place where I worked for 10 years? Did I get any false FIRs lodged against anyone? Did I cheat anyone? Rather I worked relentlessly all these years without taking care of my own children at times. When I contested my first election 10 years ago, my youngest child was 4 years old. Women can understand how difficult it is taking care of three children. I never had a joint family where others could to take care of my children. So, I just want to say that I gave more time to this family (constituency) than to my own family,” she said at a meeting. Read more election news In her meetings, she is specially focussing on women voters. “Leave all your work for next two months. Each person should connect with 10 more in a week. Once it is done, a tsunami of votes will come in our favour,” she added. At the same time, she indicated that the final decision about her seat will be taken at party level. In the first week of March, she had visited Jalalabad area amid the buzz that she may shift her constituency. Later she had gone back to Delhi. Beginning Friday, she addressed a series of meetings in Bathinda. On Saturday, she addressed workers’ meeting at the Badal village. Sources close to Harsimrat said that she will camp in Bathinda on Sunday too. She said, ”A ‘thugbandhan’ of parties seeped in corruption is being formed with the sole motive of defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Similarly, in Bathinda, all the parties are waiting for the Akali Dal to declare my seat. Their agenda is to defeat me. Otherwise, they have no other agenda in their mind.” Meanwhile, Punjab Ekta Party president Sukhpal Khaira, who has announced his candidature from Bathinda will start his campaign in the form of road show. Reacting to Harsimrat’s comment, Khaira said, “Badals need to answer for the plight of farmers in their rule. Even if they took up projects, they sought commission to fill their coffers. They looted Punjab and Punjabis. They’ll have to answer for this”. On Harsimrat calling his party the B Team of Congress, Khaira said,” Congress calls me the B team of SAD while SAD calls me the B Team of Congress. So whose team am I in? In fact, I am in the team of the people.” Sawna stakes claim to Ferozepur seat A day after Harsimrat started her campaign from Bathinda, Narinder Pal Singh Sawna, a Rai Sikh leader from Fazilka, met SAD president Sukhbir Badal at his native Badal village. Sawna told the The Indian Express that “people want Harsimrat Badal to contest from Ferozepur and if the party does not field her from there, I stake my claim for the seat. I am a Rai Sikh leader and a loyal party worker for over 11 years. I can give a tough fight to (congress MP) Sher Singh Ghubaya”.
