Amarinder arrives in Amritsar to challenge Jaitley

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh arrived in this Sikh holy city Friday to challenge senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley for the April 30 Lok Sabha election.

Amarinder, whose arrival was preceded by a show of unity by all Congress leaders of the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency, offered prayers at Harmandar Sahib, the holiest of Sikh shrines, Hindu shrine Durgiana Mandir and the martyrs' memorial at Jallianwala Bagh.

He held an impressive road show through various parts of the city before arriving at the Golden Temple complex.

"I feel a deep spiritual and emotional bonding with Amritsar and I am not only felt privileged but blessed also at being given a chance by the Congress party to represent this holy city in the parliament of India," Amarinder told reporters here, 250 km from Chandigarh.

"It is my mission to contest and win from Amritsar," he said.

Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar was the only senior Congress leader to accompany Amarinder at the event, while state Congress president Pratap Singh Bajwa and former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal stayed away. Several other Congress legislators, former ministers and other leaders accompanied Amarinder.

The contest between Amarinder and Jaitley is being keenly watched in the state and the national level. This is the first time that Jaitley, a former union law minister, is contesting a Lok Sabha election.