Akali Dal to contest all Lok Sabha, assembly seats in Haryana in 2019

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal announced on Sunday that their party will be contesting all 10 Lok Sabha and 90 assembly seats in Haryana in the 2019 elections, according to a report in Hindustan Times.

In an attempt to make inroads into the state, Sukhbir made an appeal to the Sikhs and Punjabis of Haryana to ‘unite’ and get an adequate political share.

“Despite having a big strength, the Sikhs haven’t got their share in Haryana politics, because they are not united and politicians took advantage of this. The same has happened with Muslims,” Sukhbir said at his first political rally in Haryana at Pipli grain market.

Condemning the attack on a Sikh family in Hisar by some local youths, Sukhbir asserted that such atrocities can be stopped only if the SAD wrests political power in the state. “No one can stop you from acquiring power in Haryana if you get united under the flag of SAD,” he added.

In his 30-minute speech in Punjabi, the former deputy chief minister of Punjab targeted the Congress for being anti-Sikh, citing instances such as Operation Bluestar and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He said the Congress and the Gandhi family have always targeted the Sikhs and termed it the SAD’s “biggest political enemy”.

However, Sukhbir did not say anything against the BJP government in Haryana as the saffron party is an ally of SAD in Punjab.

Sukhbir announced that if SAD comes to power in Haryana, he will provide free electricity to the agriculture sector, 400 units of free power per month to Dalits and free piped irrigation water to all fields. However, he did not speak on the issues of Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal and the demand for a separate Sikh body to manage gurudwaras in Haryana.