High-stake seats in for fierce contest
Thursday, 27/03/2014
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After Bathinda, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Anandpur Sahib and Patiala have also emerged as high-stakes seats for the April 30 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Manpreet Singh Badal, Capt Amarinder Singh, Arun Jaitley, Partap Singh Bajwa, Vinod Khanna, Sunil Kumar Jakhar, Ambika Soni and Preneet Kaur are among the candidates of the ruling SAD-BJP, main Opposition Congress-PPP and new entrant AAP, whose prestige is at stake.
Political heavyweights versus greenhorns, eminent doctors taking on the mighty, dynastic succession challenged by an estranged member of the same family, a faded film star stirring the political pot, veteran leaders trying their electoral luck for first time, and even some reluctant top-rung state leaders thrown into the poll ring – this general election has much to keep the 1.92 crore-strong electorate actively engaged in the border state.
Daily Post takes a look at some of the interesting constituencies and the evolving battles:
BATHINDA
It is witnessing a fierce contest within the family. The bahu of the state’s ruling family Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the SAD nominee fighting to retain the seat, which she had won in 2009 by a margin of over one lakh votes. She is facing challenge from none other than her estranged brother-in-law Manpreet Singh Badal of the Congress-PPP alliance. The wife of SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and daughter-in-law of five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had trounced former CM Capt Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh in the previous election while Manpreet had even lost both Assembly seats, which he had fought in the 2012 polls.
AMRITSAR
The holy city is witnessing one of the never-seen-before battles of ballot between Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley of the BJP and former CM Capt Amarinder Singh of the Congress. The AAP has fielded famous eye surgeon Dr Daljit Singh to take on the two political heavyweights. The Padma Shree octogenarian poet, philanthropist and visionary, who had introduced intra-ocular lens implant in India in the 70s, has altered the equation in the constituency. In 2009, the cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu had won the seat by almost 7,000 votes. Howe-
ver, Sidhu lost favour this time.
GURDASPUR
Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa is pitted against the Bollywood actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna
of the BJP. The AAP has nominated two-time former Akali MLA Sucha Singh Chhottepur to take on two giants. Bajwa had trounced the then three-time MP Khanna from Gurdaspur in 2009 elections, though by not-so-impressive margin of 8,342 votes. Earlier, in 2004, 1999 and 1998, Khanna had made a hat-trick by defeating the then five-time sitting Congress MP Sukhbuns Kaur Bhinder, who had won consecutively in 1996, 1991, 1989, 1984 and 1980.
FEROZEPUR
Another Congress heavyweight Sunil Kumar Jakhar (Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha) has been thrown in the poll ring to take on sitting SAD MP Sher Singh Ghubaya. The three-time legislator from Abohar, Jakhar is banking on the legacy of his father Balram Jakhar, who in the same position of Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly, had won Ferozepur in 1980 to become Speaker of Lok Sabha and then was re-elected in 1984. Ghubaya has defeated the Congress heavyweight Jagmeet Singh Brar by almost 20,000 votes during last elections.
ANANDPUR SAHIB
The fight here is between the heavyweights of the SAD and the Congress. After losing the last two parliamentary elections from Patiala, Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra of the SAD is pitted against the Rajya Sabha member Ambika Soni of the Congress. The two-time former MP and MLA, the sexagenarian Chandumajra is banking on the anti-incumbency wave and the “ill-timed” decision of the Congress party to recall its sitting MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and send him to Ludhiana. On her part, the septuagenarian Soni is taking her first plunge into the poll battle in her political career spanning over 45 years. In 2009, Bittu had become the youngest MP of Punjab by winning the newly-carved seat by over 67,000 votes.
PATIALA
Here, a 69-year-old three-time sitting MP is facing her close confidant-turned-foe Deepinder Singh Dhillon of the SAD and Dr Dharamvir Gandhi of the AAP. Union Minister of State for External Affairs is wife of former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. She had won the 2009 election by an impressive margin of almost 1 lakh votes by trouncing Akali heavyweight Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra. Graduate from St Bedes College and Convent of Jesus and Mary College, Shimla, she is among the most prestigious candidate of the Congress in Punjab.
