Even as he dubbed as farce Rahul Gandhi’s claims of deciding the CM face with inputs from the ground, Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday predicted an abysmal defeat for Navjot Singh Sidhu from Amritsar East, which he had won in the past only with the support of the BJP.Addressing the media after filing his nomination papers from Patiala Urban and inaugurating his party office in the city, the former chief minister termed as ridiculous Sidhu’s charge of his hand in him (Captain Amarinder) in Bikram Singh Majithia being pitted against him by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). “I’m not Majithia’s uncle,” quipped the PLC leader, adding that with 38% of the voters in Amritsar East being Hindus and 32% SCs, Sidhu’s defeat was certain. The BJP, as part of alliance with PLC and SAD Sanyukt, has fielded a strong candidate from the constituency, he added.
On Rahul Gandhi’s statement that the Congress would announced its chief ministerial candidate in the state after taking inputs from the ground, Captain Amarinder said this was just theatrics. He pointed out that as per procedure, the people elect their MLAs and then the CLP elects the chief minister, “and so all this talk of is just drama.”Asked to comment on the decision of the farmers to contest the polls, the former chief minister said it was their right to do so. He personally had always supported them, said Captain Amarinder, pointing out that his government had announced jobs and Rs 5 lakhs to the kin of each of the farmers who died during the agitation against the Farm Laws.Exuding confidence of the PLC-BJP-SAD Sanyukt alliance forming the next government in Punjab, Captain Amarinder said, in response to a question, that the decision to allow some of the PLC candidates to contest on BJP symbol was taken keeping in mind the voter demographics. While four PLC candidates will contest on BJP symbol in urban segments, two of their candidates will fight on PLC symbol in the rural constituencies, he explained.