PDA announces 7 candidates for Lok Sabha polls

The Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) Monday announced the names of seven candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The alliance comprises Sukhpal Singh Khaira-led Punjab Ekta Party (PEP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), Punjab Manch led by suspended AAP MP Dharamvira Gandhi, CPI and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI).

The PDA has fielded suspended AAP MP Dharamvira Gandhi from Patiala seat, Paramjit Kaur Khalra from Khadur Sahib, Manwinder Singh Giaspura from Fatehgarh Sahib (SC), Baldev Singh Jaiton form Faridkot (SC), Vikram Singh Sodhi from Anandpur Sahib, former bureaucrat Khushi Ram from Hoshiarpur (SC) and Balwinder Kumar from Jalandhar (SC) seat.

In a meeting held here, PDA leaders also arrived at a consensus on the 12 out of total 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, according to a release issued by Khaira.

Out of them, the BSP will field its candidates from Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, the PEP will contest on Bathinda, Faridkot and Khadur Sahib and the LIP, led by Bains brothers, will field candidates from Ludhiana, Amritsar and Fatehgarh Sahib seats.

The Punjab Manch, CPI and the RMPI have been given Patiala, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur, respectively.

Earlier, the PDA was in talks with SAD (Taksali), breakaway faction of Akali Dal, for an alliance. But the talks did not materialise between them.

In the release issued here, Khaira stated that the alliance had been forged to "liberate" Punjab from the "clutches of corrupt" traditional parties of Congress, SAD-BJP that have "looted" the state turn wise for the past many decades.