Sukhbir S Badal to blow election bugle by launching a door to door campaign on October 6 and bus yatra from November 10.

Sukhbir S Badal to blow election bugle by launching a door to door campaign on October 6 and bus yatra from November 10.

(Harsimrat K Badal to start second phase of anti-drug women campaign from October 5)

Party will release its election manifesto on November 1 and hold a mammoth public rally on December 8 on Parkash Singh Badal’s birthday at historic Killi Chahlan village in Moga.

Chandigarh 1 October ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today announced an intensive campaign programme for the forthcoming assembly elections centered on a door to door campaign starting from October 6 and a Statewide bus-yatra led by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal from November 10 from Talwandi Sabo. The door to door campaign will also be kicked off by the SAD president and will be initiated from Attari and will be organized simultaneously in all assembly constituencies to take suggestions for formulating the SAD’s election manifesto whose launch date has been fixed for November 1. Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal will launch the second phase of the anti-drug movement of women from Sri Muktsar Sahib on October 5. The movement will take its slogan “Maawan –Dheeyan di Lalkaar, Band Karo Nasha da Vyapar” to each and every home in the State.

A mammoth public rally has also been planned for December 8 at the historic Killi Chahlan village in Moga on the birth day of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. These decisions were announced at a press conference here addressed by senior leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundar and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema. Giving details of the same, the leaders said the decisions had been taken after a meeting of the party’s ‘halka incharge’ and observers under the chairmanship of Sukhbir Singh Badal. The leaders said the door to door campaign on October 6 was being started to take feedback on the people as to what they wanted to be included in the party’s election manifesto. “Earlier the manifesto committee has held meetings with the party’s scheduled caste and backward caste wings and will continue this exercise by meeting farmers, traders, youth and government employees. The focus is on collecting feedback to make an action plan for ushering in progress and prosperity in Punjab”. He said the programme would be completed by October 25.

Bhundar and Dr Cheema said the bus yatra of the SAD president, starting from Talwandi Sabo on November 10, would be a mass contact programme in which Mr Badal will cover two to three assembly constituencies every day. Dr Cheema also announced a ten member committee of lawyers to monitor false, baseless and defamatory content being circulated against the party and its leaders in the media and on social media platforms. He said noted advocate Amardeep Singh Dharni would chair the committee in consultation with party’s chief spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler. EOM Jangveer Singh

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Senior leader Balwinder Singh Bhundar condemned the meager Rs 25 hike in the MSP for wheat to Rs 2,610 and said the hike did not address the rising input costs of farmers and was the lowest absolute hike in seventeen years. Mr Bhundar appealed to the union government to reconsider its decision and revise it promptly. “This is necessary to save the agriculture sector which is witnessing an unprecedented crisis”, he added.