Punjab Polls: Harsimrat Badal pins hope on 'Majha' people

Amritsar, Punjab [India], Jan. 15 (ANI): Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing and daughter-in-law of the incumbent Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal, on Sunday expressed hope that people of 'Majha' region would stand by the family in the upcoming assembly elections as they always have. When asked if she believed that her brother Bikram Singh Majithia, who has filed his nomination papers from the Majitha Assembly, would win, she said, "I think the people of Majha have always stood by the Badal family. Even last time, Bikram (Singh Majithia) won by a very large margin..." 'Majha' refers to the region that is located at the center of the historical Punjab region and contains four districts of Punjab - Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, and Pathankot. "I am always happy to come back to my home. I am a daughter of Majha and it's always good to come back to our own people," Kaur added as she emphasised her faith on the people of the region. Asked whether she will also ask for votes for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state chief Kamal Sharma too, Kaur said, "It goes without saying. The BJP and the Akali Dal are coalition partners and hence, brotherly parties. So if I ask for votes for the Akali Dal, it implies I am automatically asking for the BJP as well." Earlier in the day, cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu officially joined the Congress Party and is expected to be fielded against the Badals in the polls. The former BJP leader may either be fielded from Lambi, where Badal is the Shiromani Akali Akali's (SAD) candidate or from Jalalabad against Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Punjab Congress Chief Capt. Amarinder Singh declared that he will contest the upcoming state assembly elections from Lambi, which happens to be the home turf of Badal, while also contesting from the home seat of Patiala. Assembly elections in the state will be held on February 4, where the people of Punjab will contest the election for 117 legislative seats. (ANI)