In a first, 12 sitting Punjab MLAs in race for Lok Sabha berth
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded nine legislators and Congress 3 MLAs; If they win, it will be raining byelections in the state
With 12 MLAs in the fray for the Lok Sabha elections in the state, Punjab appears set for another major electoral battle after the parliamentary polls are over.
These incumbent MLAs, including five cabinet ministers and some other prominent leaders, have been fielded by their parties in nine of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Six parliamentary constituencies have one legislator each trying their luck, while three constituencies have two MLAs each vying to secure victory. If they win, it will be raining byelections in the state, mandated to be held within six months to fill the assembly seats left vacant by the victorious candidates.
Of the total 12 sitting legislators, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded nine, whereas the remaining three are from the Congress. The AAP candidates include cabinet ministers Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Amritsar, Laljit Singh Bhullar from Khadoor Sahib, Gurmeet Singh Khudian from Bathinda, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from Sangrur and Dr Balbir Singh from Patiala, Muktsar MLA Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar from Ferozepur, Batala MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi from Gurdaspur, and Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi from the Ludhiana parliamentary constituency.
The Congress list of 12 candidates includes three sitting legislators – Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and three-time Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira. All three have AAP MLAs as their opponents.
A three-time MLA from Gidderbaha, Warring has been fielded from Ludhiana where he is taking on Ashok Parashar of the AAP among others. Khaira is squaring up to Meet Hayer in Sangrur, while Randhawa, MLA from Dera Baba Nanak, is facing AAP’s Sherry Kalsi. The party is still to name its candidate from Ferozepur.
Punjab watchers say this is an “unprecedented phenomenon” since never before have so many incumbent legislators contested the parliamentary elections together.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann, in an interview with HT recently, said that the AAP has nominated faces whom the people recognise. “In Delhi also, we have fielded MLAs. If they win, there will be byelections to elect new MLAs. We are not afraid of byelections. We just wanted to give candidates who can speak. They all have the experience of the state assembly,” he said, justifying the decision.
AAP stormed into power in Punjab in 2022, securing 92 of the 117 assembly seats. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP have not fielded any sitting legislators.
2 legislators have resigned from assembly
The AAP line-up also features Chabbewal legislator Dr Raj Kumar, who joined the party from the Congress on March 15. Kumar, deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party, resigned from his seat before switching over to the ruling party.
AAP’s Jalandhar West legislator Sheetal Angural, who left the party and joined the BJP on March 27, also tendered his resignation from the state assembly.
Their resignations are still to be accepted by the speaker. According to the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, also known as the anti-defection law, a member of a House belonging to any political party shall be disqualified for being a member of the House if he has voluntarily given up membership of such political party.