The BJP and Akali Dal appears to have conceded the defeat even before the polling day. At least the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s comments suggest that.
Photo courtesy: ndtvAddressing an election rally in Punjab, which goes to polls on 4 February, Singh said, “Aapko vote na dena ho toh mat dijiye,lekin kya aap unpe (Parkash Singh Badal) lathi chalayenge,joote phekenge? (You don’t want to vote, that’s fine. But at least don’t throw shoes or wield canes.”
Aapko vote na dena ho toh mat dijiye,lekin kya aap unpe (Parkash Singh Badal) lathi chalayenge,joote phekenge?-HM Rajnath Singh #Punjabpolls
— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2017
A shoe was hurled at Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal by a relative of a radical Sikh leader during an election campaign at Ratta Khera village in Lambi on 11 January.
40-year-old Gurbachan Singh allegedly hurled the shoe towards Badal, which first hit security personnel and then touched 89-year-old Badal’s turban, police said.
Badal is pitted against Congress’s Amarinder Singh and Aam Aadmi Party’s Jarnail Singh in Lambi.
Rajnath Singh’s comments will be seen as a candid confession of election defeat in Punjab, where BJP and Akali Dal have been in government for last 10 years.
More to follow