Date:30/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/30/stories/2008103054190400.htm

New Delhi

BJP, Akali Dal agree on three seats

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Talks on for adjustment in another three, the Sikh outfit eyes “winning seats” in West Delhi

SAD would field its candidates from Rajouri Garden, Adarsh Nagar and Shahdara
The party would be coming out with its own manifesto

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have thus far reached an understanding on three seats for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections and talks are on for adjustments on another three seats. An announcement on seat-sharing between the two National Democratic Alliance partners would be made after a meeting between their national leaders on Friday.

The president of Delhi unit of SAD, Manjit Singh, said on Wednesday that the two parties have agreed that SAD would field its candidates from Rajouri Garden, Adarsh Nagar and Shahdara. He said while SAD also wants to have its candidates from Sikh and Punjabi-dominated areas of Tilak Nagar, Moti Nagar and Shakur Basti, the BJP is not keen on giving them away. “But on our part we are trying to get at least two of these seats,” he added.

Incidentally, in 2003 too, SAD had fought from Adarsh Nagar and Shahdara. It had, however, lost both these seats as also from Kalkaji and Jangpura. Noting that none of the seats offered to SAD Badal thus far are ones on which the BJP had won last time, Mr. Singh said it was for this reason that his party is also asking for “winning seats”.

“Our focus right now is on the winning seats of West Delhi. We want the BJP to share them with us,” he said.

Noting that two days ago BJP national general secretary Arun Jaitley, party’s Chief Ministerial candidate V. K. Malhotra, Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral, former Union Minister and MP Sukhbir Singh Dhindsa and he had held a meeting on Delhi elections, Mr. Singh said seat-sharing in three constituencies had been finalised then.

On Friday, the leaders of the two parties would again be meeting in the presence of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal to decide on the remaining seats. A formal announcement is expected by November 1.

As for the symbol on which SAD would be contesting, Mr. Singh said while his party wanted to fight the elections on its own symbol, it has been advised against it as very little time is left for the elections and the BJP leaders feel a new symbol would work against the interests of the candidates.

But SAD is sure of one thing, that it would be coming out with its own manifesto. “We would be raising the issues of sealing, price rise, law and order and power and water problem to seek votes against the Congress Government in Delhi.”

More importantly, the party would also be raising the issue of implementing the second language status for Punjabi.

“Merely according it the status of the second language is not enough. Implementation is needed for the welfare of the 60 per cent Punjabi population of Delhi. It would ensure that signages are put up in Punjabi also, all the Municipal Corporation of Delhi schools teach the language and have teachers for it, and all departments are in a position to reply to the people in the language.”

The SAD would also be making an issue of how those responsible for the killing of over 3,000 Sikhs in 1984 were still roaming free and had not been punished and would be blaming the Congress for the episode, Mr. Singh said.