BJP to contest 65 seats in Punjab; allies PLC to fight from 37 seats, SAD (Sanyukt) from 17 seats

Three days after announcing its first list of 35 candidates for the Punjab Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced contesting on 65 seats in total.

BJP’s national president JP Nadda made the disclosure while addressing mediapersons at Delhi while announcing the seat sharing agreement between it and its allies Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) for the upcoming polls.

Nadda stated that Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) will contest on 37 seats and SAD (Sanyukt) on 17 seats.

Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Capt. Amarinder Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Punjab BJP head Ashwani Sharma and certain other leaders of the state were present on the occasion.

Hailing Punjab as a "leader", especially in defence and food security of the country, Nadda said, "Today, Punjab needs special attention. It needs a double-engine government and better coordination between the Centre and the state."

"I am announcing a broader seat sharing agreement. BJP will contest on 65 seats, PLC on 37 seats and SAD (Sanyukt) on 15 seats," Nadda said.

Commemorating Punjab’s contribution right from the freedom struggle to national security and to the national food pool, Nadda claimed, “In Punjab, being a border state, which shares its 600 km long border with Pakistan, security is a very important issue as far as assembly elections are concerned”.

Capt. Amarinder Singh said for the sake of national security and welfare of the state, all three parties have come together.

On January 21, the BJP fielded 35 candidates for the state assembly elections while the PLC announced 22 candidates on Sunday. The SAD (Sanyukt) had jumped in the fray with 12 candidates.

The Punjab Assembly elections for 117 seats will be held on February 20.