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Akalis drop out of Delhi, Rajasthan race

The Shiromani Akali Dal yesterday decided not to contest the assembly elections in Delhi and Rajasthan.

The decision was conveyed to the senior leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party by SAD president and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

SAD sources said the party had decided to support the BJP's candidates in the elections. It will campaign actively for the BJP, they said.

Earlier, the Akalis had said they would contest the assembly elections in Delhi and Rajasthan in alliance with the BJP. They had staked a claim to about 10 seats in Delhi (later whittled down to four) and more than a dozen in Rajasthan.

A committee chaired by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was set up to negotiate with the BJP and select the candidates.

But the committee decided last morning not to contest the Delhi election.

The other members of the committee were Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Avtar Singh Hit, and Paramjit Singh Sarna.

They felt that by opting out, the SAD would strengthen the forces opposed to "criminalisation and communalisation of politics".

"The Akali-BJP alliance is not just a political arrangement. It is a natural alliance representing Hindu-Sikh unity and communal harmony. It stands for clean and principled politics. It is committed to defeat the Congress at all costs, no matter what the price," they said.

UNI

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