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Sitting MP, minister, former envoy spice up 4-way contest in Amritsar
Traditionally, the seat has been contested by BJP, which has won thrice from here with its nominee Navjot Singh Sidhu, now in Congress, being elected as an MP in 2004, 2007 (bypoll) and 2014. But since then Congress has been able to wrest the seat
With Congress reposing faith in its sitting MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, the stage is set for a four-cornered contest in Amritsar for the first time in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Aujla is up against BJP nominee former ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Punjab cabinet minister and AAP candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) nominee Anil Joshi.
There are a total nine assembly segments in this constituency. Of them, eight are represented by AAP in the assembly. One, Majitha, is represented by the SAD. Five segments—Amritsar Central, Amritsar North, Amritsar South, Amritsar East, Amritsar West—fall in the main city. Ajnala, Rajasansi, Attari and Majitha are in the rural belt.
Intrestingly, the Akali Dal, which is a Panthic party and claims to be representing Sikhs, has fielded a Hindu face, while all other parties have banked on Sikhs as their candidates.
Aujla has won from the seat twice, once in 2017 LS bypoll when sitting MP Capt Amarinder Singh resigned to become chief minister of the state. Capt Amarinder had defeated BJP heavyweight Arun Jaitly in the 2014 parliamentary polls. Aujla again wrested seat in 2019 despite a saffron party wave in the country and defeated SAD-BJP combined candidate Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Traditionally, the seat has been contested by BJP, which has won thrice from here with its nominee Navjot Singh Sidhu, now in Congress, being elected as an MP in 2004, 2007 (bypoll) and 2014. But since then Congress has been able to wrest the seat. The state poll dynamics have seen a sea change since 2019 and Aujla will not only have to stave off BJP, which is desperately trying to win the seat back, but also AAP and SAD candidates who have close ties with the constituency.
Even though BJP’s Sandhu is being termed as a “parachute candidate’, his family has close ties with the holy city. He is grandson of legendary Sikh leader Teja Singh Samundri, who was one of the founders of the SGPC. In fact SGPC’s head office is named after him. His father was vice-chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University.
SAD’s nominee and former Punjab local bodies minister Anil Joshi started his political career here and is not a novice. He shifted from BJP to Akali Dal and still has links with the saffron party workers in the city.
AAP’s Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who also contested the Lok Sabha polls from here in 2019 unsuccessfully is a sitting MLA from Ajnala assembly segment.
Last five winners
1999 Raghunandan Lal Bhatia (Cong)
2004 Navjot Singh Sidhu (BJP)
2007 (bypoll) Navjot Singh Sidhu (BJP)
2009 Navjot Singh Sidhu (BJP)
2014 Captain Amarinder Singh (Cong)
2017 (bypoll) Gurjit Singh Aujla (Cong)
2019 Gurjit Singh Aujla (Cong)
