Oldest at 94, Badal files nomination for Punjab polls
Darpan News Desk IANS, 31 Jan, 2022 11:45 AM
Chandigarh, Jan 31 (IANS) Five-time Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal on Monday filed his nomination for the upcoming assembly elections from Lambi constituency in Punjab's Muktsar district.
He is the oldest candidate at 94 for the February 20 polls to the 117-member legislative Assembly.
A five-time MLA from the Lambi constituency, the elderly Badal was the president of the SAD from 1995 to 2008.
Badal had won the 2017 Assembly elections from this seat by defeating Capt Amarinder Singh with 22,770 votes.
The Akali patriarch had started contesting from Lambi in 1997 and won the seat by 28,728 votes, by 23,929 votes in 2002, by 9,187 votes in 2007.
In 2012, he defeated his nearest rival by 24,739 votes.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve all records in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, and also asked the state and Central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday, when it will take up the matter again.
India on Friday revised the existing guidelines for all international arrivals in India in view of the rising Covid cases and the Omicron threat, to make seven days home quarantine mandatory. The new guidelines will be effective from January 11 till further notice.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister's rally in Ferozepur had to be cancelled due to a security lapse after some protesters blocked a route and forced his convoy to spend about 20 minutes on a flyover. The Prime Minister was enroute the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala when the incident happened.
On Thursday, senior BJP leaders including chief ministers of the party ruled states offered prayers at temples across the country for the well-being and long life of Prime Minister Modi after his security was breached in Punjab on January 5.
Most of these farmers had earlier stated that they were present at the spot but were not involved in the attack. They were, at that time, charged under bailable sections such as 'rioting' and 'voluntarily causing hurt' and were let off by the SIT officials under Section 41 of the CrPC.
The Congress is witnessing internal bickering on the issue of security breach of the Prime Minister and Congress MP from Punjab Manish Tewari has termed the incidence as most unfortunate and said the matter should be probed by a sitting High Court Judge.
