Amritsar East, by far the hottest seat in the Punjab Assembly polls, is witnessing a bitter contest between the two political friends-turned-foes, state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) stalwart Bikram Singh Majithia, even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates are playing side role in this clash of the titans.

Making it a spicy contest, Majithia – a three-time Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) – left his home constituency Majithia (near Amritsar) accepting Sidhu’s “challenge” to leave his stronghold (Majithia) to fight against him (Sidhu) from Amritsar East. This was days after he was booked in a drug case even as the SAD alleged political vendetta ahead of polls.

Apprehending arrest as openly demanded by Sidhu, the former Punjab minister Majithia (46) – the brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal – remained in hiding for days till securing an anticipatory bail from Punjab and Haryana High Court.

This bail was later dismissed but the Supreme Court gave him protection from arrest till February 23 in view of the February 20 Assembly polls.

As Sidhu has consistently blamed Majithia for drug trade in Punjab, Majithia has vowed to take his revenge by making the Congress leader bite the dust.

The Sidhu-Majithia rivalry goes back to days when the SAD and the BJP were alliance partners in Punjab. Back in 2004 onwards, as SAD’s key leader in Majha region which includes Amritsar, Majithia used to campaign for the BJP candidate Sidhu, who was “like a brother” to him, from Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency.

But as the two stalwarts vied for supremacy and egos clashed, Majithia and Sidhu got engaged in the bitter tussle which saw the latter ultimately quit the BJP as the saffron party was not prepared to break the alliance with old ally SAD as demanded by Sidhu who later went on to join the Congress.

Sidhu, who lost the race for being the Congress’ CM face to Channi, is banking on development works carried out by him in the segment and attacking Majithia on issues of drugs, sacrilege and mafia rule.

Sidhu maintains it’s a ‘Dharam Yudh’ (war of righteousness) and SAD will not succeed. Sidhu’s wife, Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, says Majithia is no threat. “Residents want Majithia to stay away from the constituency, fearing drug menace will thrive if he is elected,” she said.

Putting their personal rivalry aside, Majithia is attacking Sidhu over lack of development in the constituency despite remaining an Member of Parliament (MP) from Amritsar and later as minister in the Congress government.

“It is not about winning or losing. It is about duty and to teach an arrogant person to love and respect people,” said Majithia listing broken roads, poor sewerage system and lack of access to voters as Sidhu’s failures as MLA.

The BJP candidate, retired Tamil Nadu-cadre bureaucrat Jagmohan Singh Raju, is also highlighting lack of basic facilities in the segment to target the sitting MLA. Expressing anguish over the verbal spat between Sidhu and Majithia, Raju maintains Punjab deserves serious players for restoring its glory.

AAP’s Jeevan Jyot Kaur accuses both Sidhu and Majithia for indulging in verbal spat and neglecting public issues. “They (Sidhu and Majithia) are fighting only to humiliate each other and they have nothing to do with the issues and sentiments of people of this constituency,” Kaur said.

Sidhu won by a margin of more than 40,000 votes from Amritsar East which is an urban seat and came into existence in 2012 after delimitation. But this time the multi-cornered contest and Majithia’s entry promises to make it a close contest.