PUNJAB: SAD KHADOOR SAHIB CANDIDATE VALTOHA SEEKS SUPPORT FROM AMRITPAL’S PARENTS

A day after being declared the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate for the June 1 Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib, Virsa Singh Valtoha on Monday met parents of jailed radical Sikh leader Amritpal Singh at the Heritage Street near Golden Temple, where they have been sitting in protest, demanding the shifting of NSA detainees from Assam to Punjab.

Also read: Punjab LS polls: Congress fields Warring from Ludhiana, Randhawa from Gurdaspur

Amritpal, the chief of the Waris Punjab De outfit, is lodged in the Central Jail at Dibrugarh in Assam under the National Security Act (NSA) along with nine aides. He has announced he will be contesting as an Independent candidate from Khadoor Sahib, a rural Sikh constituency that has been a SAD stronghold.

“Valtoha held a discussion with the family (of Amritpal Singh) regarding the Lok Sabha elections. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. Valtoha requested the family to cooperate with him in these elections,” read the post shared on the SAD leader’s Facebook page.

According to sources, Valtoha requested Amritpal’s parents, Tarsem Singh and Balwinder Kaur, to back him in the elections.

On Sunday, the Simranjit Mann-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) had said it would support Amritpal. Mann said his party would withdraw its candidate from the seat after Amritpal files his nomination papers.

Valtoha, who is also the SAD spokesperson, was elected as MLA in 2007 and 2012. He had unsuccessfully contested from Khem Karan assembly segment in the 2022 Punjab elections.

Besides Valtoha and Amritpal, Aam Aadmi Party’s Laljit Singh Bhullar, BJP’s Manjit Singh Manna Mianwind and Kulbir Singh Zira of the Congress are in the fray from Khadoor Sahib.

Jasbir Singh Dimpa of the Congress is the outgoing MP.

The Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency was created in 2008. It comprises nine assembly segments of Jandiala, Tarn Taran, Khem Karan, Patti, Khadoor Sahib, Baba Bakala, Kapurthala, Sultanpur Lodhi and Zira.

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2024-04-29T08:29:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd