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MARCH 15th, 2009 Sukhbir enjoys suspense over Bathinda nominee SHIROMANI AKALI Dal leaders have been asserting that a member of the Badal family will contest the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat, but party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal is clearly enjoying the suspense. Addressing a press conference at Baba Farid Institute after attending a function here, Sukhbir remarked, "Like a good movie involving suspense, the SAD also wants some suspense in Bathinda to make the contest more interesting." Recent developments indicate that Sukhbir's wife Harsimrat will be the nominee with both Badal Senior and the SAD chief declaring that they would not be contesting the Lok Sabha elections. Sukhbir went on to describe the Congress as a confused party and claimed that the infighting among its leaders had led to disappointment in its rank and file. Sukhbir said a weak opposition party would ensure the Shiromani Akali Dal victory in all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state. He said it was due to factionalism in the Congress that the party was unable to announce a single candidate from Punjab. He was confident that the NDA would form the next government at the Centre and said it would steer the country towards an era of development on every front be it agriculture, industry, education or employment generation. Asked about the revival of the Dera Sacha Sauda-Sikh row on the poll-eve, he said the state government was committed to maintaining law and order.