2 cabinet ministers, ex-CM among 32 Cong candidates lost security deposit - Hindustan Times
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2 cabinet ministers, ex-CM among 32 Cong candidates lost security deposit

Mar 12, 2022 01:37 AM IST

The Congress had 117 candidates in the fray in Punjab polls and won 18 seats with 23% vote share. However, 27% of its candidates forfeited their deposits

Chandigarh : Two cabinet ministers, a former chief minister and seven sitting legislators are among the 32 Congress contestants who lost their deposits in the assembly elections in Punjab.

Two cabinet ministers, a former chief minister and seven sitting legislators are among the 32 Congress contestants who lost their deposits in the assembly elections in Punjab.
Two cabinet ministers, a former chief minister and seven sitting legislators are among the 32 Congress contestants who lost their deposits in the assembly elections in Punjab.

Agriculture minister Randeep Singh Nabha and industries minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli failed to secure one-sixth of the total valid votes cast in their constituencies. Nabha, a four-time MLA, contested from Amloh assembly seat in Fatehgarh Sahib and trailed in the third position with just 16,045 or say 14.11% votes. Gurinder Singh Garry Birring of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the seat with 47% votes.

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Similarly, Kotli, grandson of former chief minister late Beant Singh, also failed to retain his Khanna seat which he had won in 2012 and 2017. He got 20,305 votes (15.79%) votes, finished third behind Tarunpreet Sondh of the AAP and Jasdeep Kaur Yadu of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). He had won the seat by 20,591 votes in the previous assembly elections. Both Nabha and Kotli were inducted into the Charanjit Singh Channi cabinet in September last year.

Cabinet minister Brahm Mohindra’s son Mohit Mohindra bagged 15.97% votes in Patiala Rural whereas former cabinet minister and five-time MLA Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, who was dropped from the cabinet last year, got just 12.78% votes in Nabha. Both Dharamsot and Mohit came third. A candidate has to deposit 10,000 while filing nomination papers. The deposit is forfeited if the candidate fails to secure one-sixth (16.66%) of total valid votes polled. The Congress had 117 candidates in the fray and won 18 seats with 23% vote share. However, 27% of its candidates forfeited their deposits.

Among the candidates who failed to get one-sixth of the valid votes is former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal who got 14.84% votes and finished third behind AAP’s Barinder Kumar Goyal and Parminder Singh Dhindsa of SAD (Sanyukt). She had won the seat five times earlier.

Sitting MLAs Sunil Dutti (Amritsar North), Gurpreet Singh GP (Bassi Pathana), Darshan Singh Brar (Bagha Purana), Pritam Singh Kotbhai (Bhucho Mandi), Rajinder Singh (Samana) and Navtej Singh Cheema (Sultanpur Lodhi) also lost their deposits. All three defectors from the AAP, including two sitting MLAs Rupinder Kaur Ruby and Jagtar Singh Jagga Hissowal, have also done poorly. Ruby, who won from Bathinda Rural in 2017, was fielded by the Congress from Malout, but she polled just 12.68% votes, losing to the AAP nominee Dr Baljit Kaur. Similarly, Hissowal, sitting MLA from Raikot, got the Congress ticket from Jagraon, could not secure one-sixth of the valid votes. He lost to former AAP colleague Saravjit Kaur Manuke.

Ashu Bangar had got the AAP ticket from Ferozepur Rural but dumped the party to join the Congress just days before the elections. Bangar got 13.43% votes and lost to Rajneesh Dahiya who was fielded by the AAP in his place. Congress candidate from Guru Har Sahai Vijay Kalra polled just 4% votes.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    A senior assistant editor, Navneet Sharma leads the Punjab bureau for Hindustan Times. He writes on politics, public affairs, civil services and the energy sector.

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