CHANDIGARH: Punjab BJP president and Union minister Vijay Sampla said on Wednesday that the BJP-SAD alliance would contest the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelection together and the candidate was yet to be finalized by the party’s parliamentary board. The Lok Sabha seat had fallen vacant after the demise of Bollywood actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna (70) on April 27 in Mumbai.

Addressing mediapersons here, Sampla said that, “We want to win this election at any cost.” He added that in the core committee meeting between the SAD and BJP leaders on Wednesday, it was decided that senior leaders from both parties would work in every assembly constituency falling under the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat. The meeting was attended by SAD patron and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, SAD president Sukhbir Badal, Sampla, BJP vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna and other leaders.

Asked about the possible candidates for the bypoll, Sampla refused to reveal any name at this stage, stating that it was the prerogative of the parliamentary board to decide the candidate. On the question as to whether Khanna, present during the press conference, could be the possible candidate, Sampla reiterated that the candidate would be finalized by the parliamentary board. He, however, said if the board would ask the state leadership to recommend names, only then the names which came up during the meeting in Sujanpur on August 12 would be forwarded.