Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday afternoon filed his nomination papers from the Patiala assembly constituency to launch the countdown to his last electoral battle.Thousands of people cheered him all along the route to the mini secretariat as the Punjab Congress president, accompanied by wife and Patiala MLA Preneet Kaur and other family members, left from the Moti Bagh Palace to file his papers. Captain Amarinder stopped en route to offer prayers and take blessings at the gurdwara and temple at Burj Baba Ala Singh at the historic Qila Mubarak of his ancestral home, followed by the Kali Mata Mandir, built by his family, as well as Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib.Jubilant party workers and supporters followed the Punjab Congress president’s cavalcade through the entire stretch as he went on to formally file the papers from the Patiala constituency, before embarking on a mega roadshow through his home town.Captain Amarinder will file his papers from Lambi, the other seat from which he is contesting the assembly polls, on Wednesday.
At Lambi, he is taking Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal head-on in what he himself as dubbed the grandfather of all battles.Talking to mediapersons after filing his nomination, Captain Amarinder said he was determined to defeat Badal from Lambi in order to teach a lesson to all future chief ministers misusing their powers for personal and family gains.Earlier, talking briefly to journalists on the way to filing his papers, Captain Amarinder ruled out any serious threat to him from JJ Singh (he refused to call him a General, which he said was a fluke caused by his seniority and not the result of merit), whom the Shiromani Akali Dal has pitted against him.After filing the nomination papers, Captain Amarinder kicked off his road show from a flower-decked open jeep, going through the lanes and bylanes of Patiala, while interacting with the huge crowds lined up along both sides of the road to hail their leader. The roadshow, which started from Aurvedic College Chowk, will pass through Pulli Ragho Majra, Karah Wala Chowk, and Dal Dalia Chowk, while crossing by the Hanuman Mandir, before reaching Old Municipal Committee via some other places on the way.The cavalcade of Captain Amarinder will also visit the famous Sher-e-Punjab market before reaching the Lahori Gate Road and then the Mall Road. The roadshow will culminate at Ablowal after passing through DCC Rural Office, Fountain Chowk , among other places.