Party leader Kulwant Singh returns his ticket as well as that of his son Sarabjit Singh Samana
MOHALI – Differences within the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) widened today when senior party leader Kulwant Singh returned his ticket as well as that of his son, Sarabjit Singh Samana, to the party in protest.
Kulwant Singh, who had contested the Lok Sabha elections last year on the SAD ticket from Fatehgarh Sahib, has now fielded his two sons, Sarabjit and Manpreet Singh, as Independent candidates from ward numbers 25 and 49, respectively.
Kulwant Singh alleged that Balwant Singh Ramoowalia had ditched him at the last moment by not giving the ticket to his supporters, including Amrik Singh, SS Barnala, Phoolraj Singh, RP Singh and Amteshwar Kaur.
“Earlier, I was given an assurance that all important members of my group will be accommodated. However, when the SAD-BJP lists came out, there was none from my group,” said Kulwant Singh, a multi-millionaire coloniser-turned-politician. He said Amrik Singh, SS Barnala and Phoolraj were three-time winners in the municipal poll while RP Singh and Amteshwar Kaur had won the elections twice.
“They have ignored these candidates,” said Kulwant Singh. Though Kulwant Singh targeted Ramoowalia, he said he had no grudge against the party high command. Now, with the Kulwant group fighting the elections separately, it is clear that the Ramoowalia group and the Kulwant group will work against each other.
Refuting Kulwant Singh’s charges, Ramoowalia, a former Union Minister and in charge of the SAD in the Mohali area, said all decisions regarding the allocation of seats were taken by a high-powered committee of leaders of the SAD and the BJP. “I had no role to play in it. In fact, in the 17 seats allotted to the BJP under the seat-sharing agreement, seven members of the Kulwant group have been adjusted. Besides, Kulwant and his son were allotted the SAD ticket. I must say that the BJP and the Kulwant group are playing a “friendly match” now and Kulwant’s activities are not in the interests of the SAD,” said Ramoowalia.
The SAD has fielded Gurjit Singh Malhi from Ward No. 25 and Harshbindra Singh from Ward No. 49.
