LS polls: SAD (A) to support radical preacher Amritpal Singh from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib seat

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) on Sunday said it will support radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh who has decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency as an Independent candidate.

Addressing the media here, SAD (A) president Simranjit Singh Mann said his party will withdraw its candidate from the seat after Amritpal files his nomination papers.

The SAD (A) had earlier announced Harpal Singh Baler as its candidate from the Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab.

Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is behind the bars in Assam's Dibrugarh under the National Security Act (NSA), will fight the polls from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency as an Independent candidate, his counsel had said on Wednesday.

Amritpal's mother Balwinder Kaur on Friday had also said that her son will enter the contest.

Amritpal, chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, was arrested in April last year. He along with nine of his associates is currently lodged in the Dibrugarh jail.

Meanwhile, SAD (A) president Mann said his party has decided to field Jagvir Singh Sahungra from the Jalandhar (reserve) parliamentary constituency and Gurinder Singh from Gurdaspur.

Polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1.