In an interview with ThePrint, Shiromani Akali Dal president & chief ministerial candidate Sukhbir Singh Badal blamed the media and Bollywood for portraying Punjab in a bad light.
ThePrint's National Photo Editor Praveen Jain brings you snapshots of leaders meeting people, clicking selfies with party workers and covering maximum ground less than 3 weeks before polls.
Hindus, who constitute around 38% of Punjab's population, are believed to have played a decisive role in 2017 Congress victory. But new alignments could usher in a shift.
Badal was Punjab deputy chief minister and held the home portfolio when incidents of desecration of religious texts and the subsequent police firing at protesters had taken place.
The alliance's revival comes at a time when SAD is facing a backlash among Sikh farm workers in Punjab and the Mayawati-led BSP is fighting for survival in UP.
Demanding an HC-monitored probe, Akali Dal chief said a case should be registered against the state health minister for diverting vaccines meant for common man to private institutions.
Experts see Akalis’ early preparation as good strategy since the election is likely to be a major challenge for the 100-year-old party, which broke up with BJP over farm laws last year.
Shiromani Akali Dal, which split from NDA over the farm bills in September, said the govt should stop defaming farmers and hold talks on how to repeal the laws.
The Narendra Modi government is looking at ways to check states’ spending on handouts like free electricity and rations. The first step is to tighten the noose on state borrowings.
Kashmir as a crisis has fallen off our headlines and from the top of our collective minds. Which is precisely the most important change for the better.