New Delhi: The BJP-led alliance in Punjab has decided that their more than 70 candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls will belong to the Sikh community, mainly farmers and OBCs, in an attempt to woo the community.
BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said that his party will field Sikh candidates on more than half of the total seats it will contest in next month’s elections to the 117-member Assembly.
The BJP-led alliance comprises the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and the SAD (Sanyukt).
Chugh further the BJP is also contemplating announcing a chief ministerial face for the alliance, adding that his party will play the role of a senior partner in the alliance.
The BJP is expected to contest on 65 out of the total 117 Assembly seats in Punjab, while its allies the Punjab Lok Congress is likely to field its candidates on 38 seats and SAD (Sanyukt) on 14, sources said, PTI reported.
Of the 65 seats, the saffron party is likely to nominate Sikh candidates on 33-35 seats while the alliance as a whole is expected to field more than 70 nominees from the community.
“The BJP will field Sikh candidates on about half of the total seats it will contest and the alliance as a whole will have about 60 per cent Sikh candidates, mostly farmers and those from OBC (other backward class) and SC (schedule caste) communities,” he said.
The BJP has already released its first list of 34 candidates which includes 13 farmers and nine from the SC community.
The Punjab Lok Congress also announced the first list of 22 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections. The newly-formed party has been given 37 seats to contest out of the 117 seats, with discussions still in progress on possibly another five seats for the party.