Khali extends support to AAP candidate Sajjan Singh Cheema in Punjab elections

Wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, popularly known as 'The Great Khali,' on Sunday extended unconditional support to Aam Aadmi Party candidate Sajjan Singh Cheema in Punjab where elections are due next year. Cheema is AAP's candidate from Sultanpur Lodhi.

Best known for his time with WWE, Rana became the World Heavyweight Champion in 2007. Before becoming professional wrestler, he was an officer for the Punjab state police. He was also a contestant in reality show Bigg Boss and has appeared in four Hollywood films and two Bollywood films.

AAP ALTERNATIVE TO AKALI DAL

AAP has emerged as an alternative in Punjab where Akali Dal and Congress have ruled for many years. Former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, who recently quit as BJP's Rajya sabha MP, will also formally join the Aam Aadmi party on August 15.

Meanwhile, ending an over 45-yearlong association with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Balbir Singh Batth (74), a threetime MLA from Sri Hargobindpur, also joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Chandigarh. Late Akali leader Capt Kanwaljit Singh's wife Sarbjeet Kaur and daughter Manpreet Kaur, besides singer Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi, also entered the AAP fold. A local political outfit, Secular Lok Raj, led by former Congress leader Harchand Singh Barsath, announced its unconditional merger with AAP.

Batth said Taksali Akalis like him had been ignored for long by the SAD, which had become a fiefdom of the Badal family. "Despite being a member of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), I was not invited to any meeting in the past four years. I have joined AAP because I share the party's political ideals," he said.

The ex-MLA added that he had sent his resignation to SAD president Sukhbir Badal. Later, replying to queries on the protest by AAP volunteers against the ticket allotment for 19 seats, state political affairs incharge Sanjay Singh said, "We make it clear to every person who joins us that if his aim is only to get the ticket, then he should go elsewhere."

Also Read: Hindu rule will come: This video by Gau Raksha Dal Punjab celebrates cow vigilantism