Brother-in-law of AAP candidate Simardeep Singh said a party supporter had printed these posters. He was told to include the picture of Faridkot AAP MP professor Sadhu Singh and other leaders. Due to similarity in names, he pasted the picture of the Congress leader.
In a major embarrassment for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the picture of cabinet minister and Congress MLA from Nabha, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, was printed on campaign posters of AAP zila parishad candidate from Kaddo village, Payal assembly constituency. The posters, some of which were even pasted before the blunder was detected, are being blamed on a goof-up from a supporter.
Photo of Cabinet minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot (second from right) printed on the campaign poster of Aam Admi Party candidate.(HT Photo)
“A supporter wished to contribute in campaigning. I asked him to print posters and include the picture of Faridkot AAP MP professor Sadhu Singh and other leaders. However, due to the similarity in names of the leaders, he pasted the picture of Congress leader Sadhu Singh Dharamsot instead. He did not show the posters to anyone before printing and pasting them,” said Simardeep Singh, brother-in-law of AAP candidate, Sukhwinder Kaur Doburji.
Simardeep added that on Monday, posters had been pasted at a few sites, but these were removed after they realised the mistake on Tuesday morning. “It has led to embarrassment, but the mistake was not intentional,” he claimed.
Congress MLA from Payal Lakhvir Singh Lakha said, “My supporters have informed me of the incident. I have asked the local leaders to file a complaint with the returning officer. How can AAP leaders use the photo of a Congress leader on their posters and ask for votes on his name.”
Payal returning officer, sub-divisional officer Swati Tiwana, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.