The Congress party has expelled Navjot Kaur Sidhu after she publicly criticized Rahul Gandhi. The expulsion follows her earlier suspension and a series of posts on X where she attacked the party leadership and questioned their commitment to Punjab.
The party has fielded Dr Charanjit Singh from Sri Chamkaur Sahib against Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
As Punjab reels under unscheduled power cuts, Sidhu on Friday sought a law to nullify the power purchase agreements signed during the tenure of the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government.
Around 1.76 crore voters will seal the fate of 1,078 candidates, including the two chief ministerial aspirants Parkash Singh Badal of ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party and Amarinder Singh of opposition Congress, in fray for 117 assembly seats in Punjab where polling will take place on Monday amidst tight security.
The Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine is heading for a clean sweep in the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti polls with winning 14 Zila Parishad and 130 Block Samiti seats and leading in most of the seats as per the results and trends available till noon on Tuesday.
Here is the list of constituencies where results have been announced.
Polling to 115 of 117 seats of the Punjab Assembly will be held amidst tight security.
Punjab Director General of Police N P S Aulakh has been appointed as the new chief of the elite National Security Guards and will assume charge on March 1. Aulakh, a 1972-batch officer of the Indian Police Service, will replace J K Dutta who is retiring on Saturday, official sources said on Friday. He was appointed the Punjab DGP in March 2007 after the formation of Shiromani Akali Dal Bharatiya Janata Party combine government in the state. Aulakh is to retire in August 2010
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and the opposition SAD-BJP are at loggerheads over who will inaugurate the bridge in Gurdaspur district.
The Congress policy of minority appeasement and burdening the middle-class has cost it dear in Punjab
However, it was BJP, which put up an unexpectedly impressive performance bagging 19 of the 23 seats it contested.
"My department is being singled out publicly. I always regard him as my elder I always listen to him."
In a statement, Deol said Sidhu's 'repeated utterances seek to derail the earnest efforts of the state government to ensure justice in the drugs matter and the sacrilege cases'.
Amit Doda, one of the accused in Abohar Dalit murder case, has surrendered before police even as the liquor baron and Akali leader Shiv Lal Doda continued to remain elusive.
Chandigarh police used water cannons to stop the protesters from going towards the chief minister's residence.
Jakhar, the former president of Punjab Congress, said the party had never named its CM face adding that it was only an exception that the Congress high command had declared Captain Amarinder Singh as the chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the 2017 state assembly polls.
It was not that differences did not crop up over other issues between the two erstwhile allies, but Parkash Singh Badal always ensured that these were amicably resolved and the ties remained intact.
His remarks came a day after AAP Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann took a dig at the cricketer-turned-politician and asked him to tweet about the 'funds' allegedly accepted by the ruling Congress from private power companies in the state.
The CM's statement came on a day state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu once again sought the replacement of Punjab's police chief and advocate general.
The red beacons were removed from the vehicles of the chief minister and other members of the council of ministers. Additionally, a ban on the foreign travel of ministers for two years and organising of banquets on state expense has been imposed.
Making the announcement at a press conference in Chandigarh, Sidhu, however, said he will assume charge the day Punjab will get a new advocate general.
Most villagers decided to stay back to harvest crops, their only source of livelihood.
The SAD MP from Bathinda said the alliance will be voted back because it had worked hard for the future of the state on an agenda of "development, development and yet more development".
Sidhu said there would be no need for Amarinder to go for power cuts or to regulate the office timings if the state acts "in the right direction".
However, restriction on opening of liquor vends within 500 metres of highways will remain as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
The Lt Governor conveyed to the Delhi government that the rules will have to be amended for shunning the EVMs and it was not possible to make the changes as little over a month is left for the polls.
The rebel leader has been a vocal critic of AAP leadership since he was removed as leader of opposition in Punjab assembly in July last year.
The Aam Aadmi Party MLAs spent the night in the state legislative assembly building demanding copies of the Bill which the state's Congress government is now expected to introduce on Tuesday.
Several newly elected MLAs including Navjot Singh Sidhu, Manpreet Singh Badal, Brahm Mohindra, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Rana Gurjit Singh, Pargat Singh, Razia Sultana, O P Soni are in the race for becoming ministers, party sources said.
Modi also attacked the Congress for charging him with corruption in the Rafale deal.
The decision has been taken as it would lead to opening another front, diverting the party's energy from the campaign, AAP sources said.
He said, Kejriwal was dreaming of becoming the CM of every state he visits.
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took his fight against the contentious land acquisition bill to Punjab as he travelled by train today to visit the National Democratic Alliance-ruled state and see the condition of farmers with his own eyes.
The Akali Dal-BJP alliance won on four seats and the AAP bagged one.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani as a pawn to further his chances in the polls next year by playing politics over the upcoming controversial film, 'Udta Punjab'.
About Sonia, he said, "She has worked really hard. Let me tell you the amount of work she has put in since 1997, it is amazing."
Slogan shouting Congress and BJP members on Monday forced four adjournments of Rajya Sabha demanding dismissal of SAD-BJP government in Punjab over alleged atrocities against Dalit youths.
The scion of erstwhile Patiala Royal family refused to comment on the number of ministers who will be part of the new cabinet.
The father of the girl agreed to conducting of post-mortem and cremation of the body.
He alleged 'the nexus between the Naxals and the Khalistanis in the AAP will bring back the dark the days of terrorism in Punjab'.
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