Punjab Elections 2017: Captain Amarinder Singh says the Congress is the new dawn that Punjab needs (File)
Fighting his last elections, former chief minister and Congress' Punjab chief Captain Amarinder Singh has said he does not believe the assembly elections in Punjab is a tri-cornered contest. He said the ruling Akali-BJP combine and debutant the Aam Aadmi Party were way behind the Congress according to early reports on voting in Punjab. Mr Singh who is fighting from Patiala, his home turf, against Akali candidate and former army chief General JJ Singh, has also challenged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from his traditional seat of Lambi.
The performance of AAP, poised as a disrupter in the state which has elected the Akali Dal and the Congress in alternate elections, is being watched with keen interest as the four-year-old party attempts to extend its influence beyond Delhi, where it swept assembly elections two years ago.
But Mr Singh says the Congress is the 'new dawn' that Punjab needs. "The people have voted for stability versus communal and radical politics. The people of Punjab want the experience and expertise of Congress to get the state back on the rails of progress and development, Mr Singh said.
Mr Singh said the Shiromani Akali Dal has "ripped apart the state's social, religious and economic fabric" and its ally both in the state and at the centre, the BJP, was equally responsible.
"People don't want SAD's mafia and communal ideology, nor do they want AAP's radical extremism," Mr Singh said, adding, "People have voted for securing the future of their children. Punjab stands at the brink of a positive change, and Congress is all set to provide it."
Punjab votes today in a single phase. The results for the state - along with Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur - will be announced on March 11.
(With inputs from PTI)