M A I N   N E W S

SAD to contest 4 Delhi seats
Sarbjit Dhaliwal/
Syed Ali Ahmed/TNS

Chandigarh/Delhi, November 6
The Shiromani Akali Dal began finalising the names of its candidates after the BJP today allocated four constituencies to the party for the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections. The meeting was attended by SAD Delhi unit leader Manjit Singh (GK), senior Akali leaders BS Ramoowalia and Naresh Gujral, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Ramlal and Delhi BJP election in-charge Nitin Gadkari.

The parties agreed on giving the Hari Nagar, Rajouri Garden (West Delhi), Kalkaji (South Delhi) and Shahdara (trans-Yamuan area) seats to the SAD.

Sources said SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal would discuss the names with senior leaders of the party in Delhi on Friday before making the announcement in this regard.

Before finalising the allocation of seats, the SAD president and BJP president Rajnath Singh talked over the phone in the morning. The SAD president was in his Jalalabad constituency today.

Sources said Jatinder Singh Shenti is likely to be the party candidate from the Shahdara constituency. Harmeet Singh Kalka, a leader of the Youth wing of the party, is likely to be fielded from the Kalkaji constituency. SAD’s Delhi unit leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa is keen to contest the election from the Rajouri Garden constituency.

But sources said the SAD was also working on a proposal to put up Subash Arya from Rajouri Garden. Subash is a BJP councillor from the area. Sources said the SAD leadership with consent from the BJP leadership might put up Subash Arya from Rajouri Garden and accommodate Manjit Singh Sirsa in the Hari Nagar constituency. There are around 51,000 Sikh voters in Rajouri Garden and 30,000 in Hari Nagar constituencies.

“No name has been finalised yet for any of the four constituencies to be contested by the SAD. The names will be finalised only after Sukhbir Singh Badal arrives in Delhi. Several candidates are in the race. We had demanded two constituencies in West Delhi and the BJP has done so. We are satisfied with the constituencies allocated to us,” said a senior leader of the SAD.

The SAD is keen on contesting from all four seats on its symbol. The BJP has left it to SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal to decide on the matter.