Aam Aadmi Party’s Gurmeet Singh Khuddian will take on Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and three-time Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. She is the daughter-in-law of late SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and five-time chief minister of Punjab whom Khuddian defeated in 2022, emerging as his party's "giant slayer".
In the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government, the agriculture minister, Khuddian, has been fielded by the AAP from Bathinda, considered a citadel of the SAD.
"I am thankful to the party for putting its faith in me by fielding from the Bathinda seat," Khuddian told PTI. The 61-year-old minister and first-time MLA said that AAP has received a good response from the people over the past 2 years regarding its performance as the government in Punjab.
"People trust us and they know that we work honestly towards their welfare. I am taking the government's work of two years to people to seek their votes," Khuddian exuding confidence that he would win the Bathinda seat.
In 2022, Khuddian defeated 11-time MLA Parkash Singh Badal on his home turf Lambi seat by a margin of 11,396 votes.
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Work Done By AAP In Punjab
He told PTI about the work done by the AAP government, and he mentioned free electricity (300 units per household) as well as the Aam Aadmi Clinics
He said that Aam Aadmi Clinics provides free medical treatment, tests and medicines which benefits the people a lot. There are more than 800 Aam Aadmi Clinics. He further spoke about AAP organising 'Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan' for the promotion of sports in the state.
Bathinda SAD’s Bastion
The Bathinda parliamentary constituency is considered a bastion for SAD. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a former Union minister and wife of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, has held the seat since the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. The SAD has again fielded her from the seat.
Meanwhile, former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for Punjab and the Congress candidate is Jeet Mohinder Sidhu.