Key Seat: Battle of prestige in Lambi segment

Lambi (Muktsar), February 19

Lambi, the home turf of Badals, is set to witness a battle of pride on Sunday. Five-time former Chief Minister-cum-SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal is the country’s oldest candidate in the electoral fray against two debutants Gurmeet Singh Khudian (AAP) and Jagpal Singh Abulkhurana (Congress), who are scions of Khudian and Abulkhurana, respectively.

If the 94-year-old Badal wins, he will become a 12-time MLA, who has been winning the Assembly elections since 1969. This is Badal’s 13th Assembly elections. He first won the Assembly polls from Malout in 1957 before the reorganisation of the state. He is presently five-time MLA from Lambi.

Meanwhile, a day before the elections, the hustle and bustle of SAD workers at the Badals’ residence here at Badal village was missing. Both Sukhbir and Harsimrat had gone to Amritsar to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and the former CM preferred to remain indoors.

Sources said elderly Badal remained in touch with SAD activists over the phone and gathered reports of the area. A senior SAD leader said before leaving for Amritsar, Sukhbir met party workers and returned to their areas.

Congress candidate Jagpal Singh Abulkhurana, a foster son of late Cabinet Minister Gurnam Singh Abulkhurana, met party workers at his residence and remained busy over his phone. Similarly, AAP candidate Gurmeet Singh Khudian, son of late MP Jagdev Singh Khudian, also met people at his residence at Khudian village, assigned the poll duties to his supporters and visited a few villages too.

Meanwhile, a majority of people are silent and not revealing their inclination to any political party. The BJP has fielded its former district chief Rakesh Dhingra, a resident of Mohlan village here, but it did not put its might here as no central or state BJP leader came to canvass for him.