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Punjab polls: Ex-mayor Kulwant Singh to contest from Mohali
Former mayor and real estate baron Kulwant Singh plans to contest the Punjab assembly elections scheduled early next year from the Mohali seat
Former mayor and real estate baron Kulwant Singh plans to contest the Punjab assembly elections scheduled early next year from the Mohali seat.
“I have decided to contest the Vidhan Sabha elections from Mohali. Regarding the party, I will speak to the members of my Azad Group and comply with whatever decision they take,” he said on Sunday.
Kulwant had formed the Azad Group after parting ways with the Shiromani Akali Dal ahead of the municipal elections in Mohali earlier this year. Though he lost the election, his group won 11 seats out of the total 50.
According to sources, Kulwant Singh is hoping to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and even had a couple of meetings with its state chief, Bhagwant Mann. If not successful in getting the AAP ticket from Mohali, he could also contest the assembly elections under the banner of Azad Group, they said.
Kulwant Singh is the owner of Janta Land Promoters Limited (JLPL), which has an annual turnover of ₹1,200 crore. His political journey started in 1995, when he won the municipal committee election. In 2014, he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Fatehgarh Sahib, and later became Mohali’s first mayor with the Congress support in 2015. In 2017, he joined the SAD, but was expelled after he decided to contest the recent civic polls independently.
Govinder Mittal, AAP in-charge in Mohali, said: “We have not got any official intimation from the high command regarding Kulwant Singh joining the party.”
Taking a dig at the former mayor, Punjab health minister and sitting Mohali MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu said: “What is the credibility of a person who has not even decided the party to contest elections? He is not a political person, but a corporate person.”
