Early-bird Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has announced all its candidates from Punjab for April 30 lok Sabha elections. The party on Wednesday announced remaining three candidates.
Reposing faith on its sitting MPs for Faridkot and Ferozepur seats, the Akali Dal has fielded the former Congressman from Patiala. Often termed as Union Minister Preneet Kaur’s disciple, a Congress rebel-turned-Akali leader Deepinder Singh Dhillon is all set to contest the polls against her from Patiala parliamentary constituency. Sitting MPs Sher Singh Ghubaya and Parmjit Gulshan have been declared party candidates from Ferozepur and Faridkot respectively. In a politically strategic move, the SAD has fielded once “insider” Dhillon against Maharani of erstwhile Patiala royalty, who has been reigning over Patiala constituency since 2004.
Even as the Congress is yet to make the announcement of its candidate, three-time MP Preneet’s candidature is certain. Making it a triangular contest, Aam Aadmi Party has already announced its candidate from Patiala — Dr Dharamvir Gandhi. Dhillion bid final goodbye to Congress party from where he started his political career and had been active for past more than two decades in July 2012.
Turning rebel ahead 2012 assembly polls, Dhillon contested as an independent from Dera Bassi and secured 52,000 votes, while the official Congress candidate Jasjit Singh Randhawa’s security was forfeited. Dhillon, subsequently, was expelled from the Congress for “anti-party activities”. A well-known leader of the Banur-Dera Bassi area of Patiala district, Dhillon is expected to give a tough fight to his political-maestro, who would be knowing all areas of her weaknesses and strengths.
With this, SAD would bring into play Dhillon’s popularity by fielding him against his former mentor considering that it was not able to find a suitable candidate to break in Congress’ bastion.
Dhillon had played a major role in Preneet’s third consecutive victory from Patiala in 2009. He was deputy advocate general in Badal-led Government in 1997, when former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh made him join the Congress. Over the years, he worked closely with the royal family, but was expelled from the party in 2012 after he contested against the official Congress candidate.
For the Faridkot parliamentary seat, the will of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal prevailed with the declaration of sitting MP Gulshan as his deputy and SAD president Sukhbir Badal was in favour of fielding former Congressmen and ex-MlA Ajit Singh Shant. Gulshan was considered to be SAD’s obvious choice from Faridkot seat, but after Shant joined the SAD in August last, he was also seen as a potential candidate from the constituency.
Badal has all along been insisting to field Gulshan considering her popularity in the region, coupled with being party’s woman face who has been working hard to nurture her constituency. Wife of former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nirmal Singh, who is currently SAD MlA from Bassi Pathana, 65-year-old sitting MP had also remained MP from Bathinda lok Sabha seat in 2004, but was shifted to Faridkot after Bathinda was made an open constituency.
The Badal father-son duo was also in variance on deciding the candidate for Ferozepur constituency, but senior Badal’s choice has won over his son’s alternative. Sitting MP Ghubaya has been re-nominated as SAD-BJP alliance’s candidate for Ferozepur constituency, despite Sukhbir’s keenness to replace him with a new young face Vardev Singh Mann.
The party has become the first party in the state to announce its all candidates on 10 seats it would contest in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has three seats in its share out of total 13 in Punjab. Of the 10 SAD candidates, four are sitting MPs and one former MP, while five will test, for the first time, in the political waters of the lok Sabha polls.
SAD rebel Bains to contest as independent from ludhiana
Former Akali leader Simarjit Singh Bains would once again give tough time to his opponents in the electoral battle from ludhiana parliamentary constituency. Sitting MlA from Atam Nagar constituency on Wednesday declared his candidature as an ‘independent candidate’ from ludhiana, after quitting from associate membership of SAD.
Once considered for the SAD ticket from ludhiana, Bains has decided to once again revolt against the ruling party after he was refused part ticket. SAD has fielded sitting MlA from Dakha Manpreet Singh Ayali from ludhiana.Simrajit and his brother Balwinder Singh Bains — sitting MlA from ludhiana (South) — are known as Bain brothers and have played significant role in the political scene of ludhiana.
Their stronghold over the constituency can be gauged from the fact that the brother were together polled 1,00,657 votes in the 2012 state Assembly elections. Balwinder had defeated the SAD nominee by 32,233 votes from ludhiana (south), while Simarjit had trounced SAD heavyweight Hira Singh Gabria by 28,503 votes from Atam Nagar seat.They part away from the SAD just before 2012 Assembly elections after denied party ticket, and won both seats independently. later, they were convinced to become associate members of the ruling party. Already, the Aam Aadmi Party had declared senior advocate HS Phoolka as its candidate. Congress is yet to formally announce its candidate but sitting MP and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari is seen as the obvious choice.