FILE photo: Navjot Singh Sidhu
Amritsar:
Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has decided against campaigning for Arun Jaitley who was picked over him by the BJP as its candidate from Amritsar for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Mr Sidhu is serving his third consecutive term as MP from the constituency.
"Sidhu will not campaign for the party in Punjab... But he will be available for canvassing elsewhere in the country as per the party's directives," Navjot Kaur, Mr Sidhu's wife said in a statement on Friday, clearly highlighting his unhappiness at being overlooked by the party.
Mr Sidhu was earlier conspicuous by his absence at the launch of Mr Jaitley's campaign last week. Instead, his wife, a sitting BJP MLA from Amritsar East, welcomed Mr Jaitley along with party workers. (Arun Jaitley campaigns in Amritsar. No Navjot Singh Sidhu in sight.)
Interestingly, Mrs Kaur's statement came just after Mr Jaitley met her at her residence in Amritsar where he reportedly sought her husband's participation in his campaign. Mr Jaitley, 61, will be fighting his first-ever parliamentary election and faces a formidable rival in former Punjab Chief Minister and Congress heavyweight Captain Amarinder Singh. (Arun Jaitley unfazed in tough fight for Amritsar) Based in Delhi, the BJP leader, also an eminent lawyer, has also been battling criticism of being an "outsider".
"He (Sidhu) just wanted to fight from Amritsar and nowhere else," Mrs Kaur told NDTV, adding that she was firmly backing Mr Jaitley. But she also warned that "workers are still not ready" to accept Mr Jaitley.
Mr Sidhu, who is also a cricket commentator, is in Bangladesh for the ICC T20 World Cup. He had reportedly made it clear that he was not happy about being made to surrender the constituency he has represented in the Lok Sabha since 2004.
When Mr Jaitley was announced as the candidate from Amritsar, Mr Sidhu said that the former was his "guru," and he would accept whatever the party decided, but made it clear that he would not contest the election from anywhere else.
"Sidhu will not campaign for the party in Punjab... But he will be available for canvassing elsewhere in the country as per the party's directives," Navjot Kaur, Mr Sidhu's wife said in a statement on Friday, clearly highlighting his unhappiness at being overlooked by the party.
Mr Sidhu was earlier conspicuous by his absence at the launch of Mr Jaitley's campaign last week. Instead, his wife, a sitting BJP MLA from Amritsar East, welcomed Mr Jaitley along with party workers. (Arun Jaitley campaigns in Amritsar. No Navjot Singh Sidhu in sight.)
Interestingly, Mrs Kaur's statement came just after Mr Jaitley met her at her residence in Amritsar where he reportedly sought her husband's participation in his campaign. Mr Jaitley, 61, will be fighting his first-ever parliamentary election and faces a formidable rival in former Punjab Chief Minister and Congress heavyweight Captain Amarinder Singh. (Arun Jaitley unfazed in tough fight for Amritsar) Based in Delhi, the BJP leader, also an eminent lawyer, has also been battling criticism of being an "outsider".
"He (Sidhu) just wanted to fight from Amritsar and nowhere else," Mrs Kaur told NDTV, adding that she was firmly backing Mr Jaitley. But she also warned that "workers are still not ready" to accept Mr Jaitley.
Mr Sidhu, who is also a cricket commentator, is in Bangladesh for the ICC T20 World Cup. He had reportedly made it clear that he was not happy about being made to surrender the constituency he has represented in the Lok Sabha since 2004.
When Mr Jaitley was announced as the candidate from Amritsar, Mr Sidhu said that the former was his "guru," and he would accept whatever the party decided, but made it clear that he would not contest the election from anywhere else.
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