The four-time MP Pawan Kumar Bansal, who is Congress’ Chandigarh candidate for lok Sabha polls, will face a tough ballot contest against two dimpled beauties from Bollywood this time.
Adding glamour quotient to the Chandigarh ballot contest, BJP has fielded actress Kirron Kher while actor-cum-social activist Gul Panag is Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) candidate from the city’s lone lok Sabha seat. While both Kher and Panag would be trying their luck for the first time in the ballot fight, Bansal would contest seventh election from Chandigarh.
Both the Bollywood beauties with Army background will also be fighting out the charge that they are ‘outsiders’ in Chandigarh. Both the actors were not active in politics before. Kher had joined the BJP in 2009 and Gul joined AAP only recently. While Kher had campaigned for the party in Chandigarh during 2011 civic body elections, Gul’s political career has started just a week back.
Another woman candidate from Chandigarh is Bahujan Samaj Party’s candidate Jannat Jahan, who is also a Municipal Councillor. During the election season, the Railway Board Bribery scam would continue to haunt Bansal. Besides, the anti-Congress wave at national level may also spell trouble for the Member of Parliament in the elections.
About problems faced by the city residents, Panag said, “Chandigarh is facing the problems of corruption just like the country. I have joined AAP as it is a movement and mainstream parties have failed to deliver.” On the other hand, Bansal is confidant of his victory and said that both BJP and Congress have fielded such candidates who didn’t hail from the city and were unaware of the issues and problems. “The outsiders have never won in Chandigarh. And, this time also, people will not let the “parachute candidates” emerge victorious in the elections,” added Bansal.
In the last general elections 2009, emerging as a clear winner from the ballot tussle of 14 candidates, Bansal had got a total of 1,61,042 votes and won the seat leading by 58,967 votes from his main rivals BJP candidate Satya Pal Jain at that time. The sitting MP, Bansal had won elections in 1991, 1999, 2004 and 2009 and had tasted electoral defeat in 1996 and 1998.