Even as he said he was looking forward to creating Army history by defeating General JJ Singh in Patiala, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday once again challenged AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to fight him in the coming Assembly elections.It will be the first time in the history of Army that a Captain will beat a General, he said, while reiterating that he was ready to take on and defeat Kejriwal from any constituency in the state.Captain Amarinder was interacting with the media at a press conference to announce the joining of former Akali minister Ranjit Singh Balian, along with family members, as well as a large number of AAP workers and others.In response to questions, Captain Amarinder denied that the delay in tickets would impact the campaigning of the Punjab Congress candidates, and added that there was enough time to canvas for the polls, scheduled for February 4, even though unfortunately the tickets could not be announced six months before the elections, as decided at the Jaipur session of the party.
The final list of the party, said Captain Amarinder, is likely to be released on January 9.Responding to a question on dissidence in Punjab Congress, Captain Amarinder said tickets could not possibly be given to all deserving prospects but the party was working hard to bring the dissidents around. He said he was personally committed to accommodating in his government, after coming to power, all those who are voluntarily backing out of the race and extending support to the official candidates.Reiterating that tickets would be given to outsiders in constituencies where the Congress did not have strong candidates, Captain Amarinder said, in response to a question, that the posters being put up against Inderbir Singh Bolaria and others in Delhi were obviously the act of detractors.
Captain Amarinder once again made it clear that there had been no discussion with him on the possibility of making Navjot Singh Sidhu the deputy chief minister once the Congress comes to power in the state.Besides contesting elections, Sidhu would also be part of the AICC list of star campaigners for the party, he added.On APP’s Bhagwant Singh’s claim to the chief ministerial post, Captain Amarinder wished him luck, saying if that happened the state would have a comedian government.Captain Amarinder reiterated his stand that there was no place for religion in politics, while asserting that the Supreme Court verdict on the issue would impact the campaign of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), who had been taking people to gurdwaras to pledge their allegiance to the party.