Manpreet takes U-turn on hung Assembly prediction

On his earlier stand of seeking a fresh mandate in case of a hung Assembly,Manpreet said he has no answer to it as of now. “Our call was to shake up the status quo and both Congress and Akali Dal symbolise the status quo. I am meeting my core committee and candidates today and will shortly meet our coalition partners. But till we know the numbers we and other parties are going ti get,it will be foolhardy on my part to say anything. So,to the question of a hung Assembly,our response will have to wait till the verdict day,” he said.

Asked whether he was ruling out supporting Akali Dal,Manpreet said: “We will need to think a million times before deciding who to support.” He dismissed the remark made by him at a recent bhog ceremony in Bathinda as “off the cuff”,where he had stated that the PPP will support any party that agrees to implement its 100 days agenda.

Notably,his close aide who switched loyalties to the Congress in December last year,Kushaldeep Dhillon,had claimed at his joining-in press conference that Manpreet had told them that he will support Akalis in case of a hung Assembly,something Manpreet denied vehemently. “It is a lie. I never made such a statement,as I broke away from the Akalis owing to ideological differences,” he claimed.

As his candidates filled him in with news on their winning chances on Monday,Manpreet said many big guns will lick the dust. “From Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal,SAD general secretary P S Chandumajra to former CM Beant Singh’s son Gurkirat,all will lose to my candidates. Despite funds crunch and lack of organisational structure at grassroots level,the results are going to spring a pleasant surprise,” said Manpreet.