Sukhbir Badal to contest LS polls from Ferozepur

Chandigarh, April 23 (IANS) With the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) facing a backlash over sacrilege cases of Guru Granth Sahib, party President Sukhbir Singh Badal has decided to take the plunge and contest the Lok Sabha elections this time to revive the party cadres.Sukhbir Badal will contest from the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat, which shares the international border with Pakistan, it was announced on Tuesday.Sukhbir is a sitting SAD legislator from Jalalabad.His wife, union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal, is the SAD candidate from the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat which she won in 2009 and 2014.Sukhbir Badal will face Congress candidate Sher Singh Gubhaya in Ferozepur.Gubhaya, who is the sitting MP from Ferozepur, was elected in 2014 on SAD ticket.Over two years ago, Gubhaya turned a rebel in the SAD and finally joined the ruling Congress in Punjab. His son is a Congress legislator since March 2017.He was fielded by the Congress for the Ferozepur seat on Sunday.Harsimrat will face Congress candidate, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who is a sitting legislator, and legislator and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira in Bathinda.
--IANS js/mr