Chandigarh, Feb 18 (IANS) Ahead of polling for the Assembly elections, five-time Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal on Friday said the party is poised for a triumphant return.
"Great finish by the SAD-BSP," said the 94-year-old Badal, who is in fray from Lambi and aiming for the sixth consecutive win.
"The results will surprise many armchair analysts. We knew that the Congress campaign was a disaster from the start and AAP claims were a social media bubble and a repeat of 2017 false bravado.
"The AAP's anti-Punjab and anti-farmers stance in the Supreme Court has killed them. We kept our ears to the ground, our shoulder on the wheel and worked hard at grassroots. We have peaked at the right time. We are the only party smiling at the end of the campaign. We are poised for a triumphant return," Badal added.
The Congress is offering 40 per cent reservation in tickets to women in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, because the party knows that it would not come to power in the politically crucial state anyway, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said here on Monday.
The Congress is closely watching former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's moves and the leaders who have close ties with him. The state unit has been tasked to placate such leaders or arrange a meeting with the high command.
Authorities are worried that the rise of Taliban in Afghanistan may have had a role in the emergence of India as the newest hub not just for consumption but also for trafficking of a variety of drugs.
In a big relief to commuters, the Delhi Police have started removing barricades along the Tikri and Ghazipur borders, 11 months after these were installed to stop the farmers from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh entering the national capital.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lashed out at the corruption, crime and mafia rule in Punjab on Friday. He announced that if his party forms the government in 2022, Punjab will be freed from criminals, the corrupt and inspector raj.
To deal with the ongoing Covid pandemic, India's civil aviation regulator on Friday extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till November 30.
