Express News Service
CHANDIGARH: It seems all is not well within the Badal clan in Punjab. Former senior minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon has been reportedly avoiding using the party’s name in functions in his constituency. Also missing are the name and pictures of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal from hoardings and banners. Kairon is son-in-law of former chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal.
Sources said Kairon appeared to flaunt his family’s name in the recent campaign for his Patti constituency in Amritsar. He has represented the seat four times from 1997 to 2017, but lost in 2017 to Harminder Singh Gill of the Congress.
According to sources, Kairon’s pique could stem from the fact that sometime back, the Akali Dal had nominated Harmit Singh Sandhu as the area in-charge for Tarn Taran district of which Patti is a part. The party is yet to declare its candidates from Patti and Khadoor Sahib assembly segments.
A party leader said Kairon had a few months back held public meetings in villages of Khemkaran assembly segment and said that one of his family members would contest the seat. The buzz was that Parneet Kaur, wife of Adesh and sister of Sukhbir, wanted to contest a seat adjacent to her husband’s assembly segment. However, Khemkaran is the home turf of SAD’s veteran leader Virsa Singh Valtoha.
Early this year, Sukhbir had announced Valtoha as the party candidate from Khemkaran. Valtoha has contested the seat since 2007. Without naming Kairon, Sukhbir had then said that Akali Dal leaders should stay away from factionalism and focs on working to strengthen the party.
