New Delhi/ Chandigarh, December 06, 2016: Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would not cross the nine seat figure in elections to the 117 member State assembly early next year. He said the Congress could get around 30 to 35 seats and the SAD- BJP combine between 70 to 75 seats.
Participating in a media event here, Mr Badal said this dive in AAP fortunes was directly linked with its leader Arvind Kejriwal. "Since what Kejriwal says and what he does is directly opposite to each other he has been thoroughly exposed. He got support in Punjab earlier as he was perceived to be standing for idealism. Today his name is synonymous with opportunism. Forget Punjab he will be reduced go six or seven seats from 67 if elections are held in Delhi today".
The SAD president also made it clear that anti incumbency was not an issue as was being made out by the media in the Punjab elections. "There are so many other governments in the country which are serving their third term in office. People reward performance and I can confidently state that our government has delivered on all its promises". He rated infrastructure development as the biggest success of his government. "This includes making Punjab power surplus and establishing 100 per cent water supply and sewerage facilities in all 160 small and big towns in the State", he added.
When questioned, Mr Badal said cricketer turned comedian Navjot Sidhu would not have any bearing in the assembly elections. "You need to understand. Anybody who becomes a commodity by putting himself in the market for sale becomes a non-player. I have nothing against Sidhu. In fact I always supported him when he was in the BJP. But by going in for bargaining with AAP and now the Congress he has lost all credibility".
The SAD president when asked, made it clear that his party could never have any truck with the Congress. "The Congress is responsible for attacking the Darbar Sahib. We can lay down our life but cannot ever shake hands with the Congress".
Mr Badal made a fervent appeal to everyone not to defame Punjab on the issue of drugs. He said this issue was first picked up by the media when Rahul Gandhi misquoted a survey to claim that 70 per cent of youth of Punjab were drug addicts. He said this false propaganda was having a psychological impact on the minds of the youth. He quoted a recent drug test done on four lakh youth who had participated in a police recruitment drive which revealed a drug incidence of only 1.27 per cent. He said similarly a recent army recruitment drive had revealed drug incidence of only ten candidates out of 14,000 odd tested by the army authorities.