E-Paper
Woman power in Punjab assembly
Thirteen women have been elected to the 16th assembly of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, up from six in the previous House. Ten of them are first-timers, coming from diverse fields. Driven by idealism and ideas, they have their own set of aspirations for their constituencies and the state. A day after the results, HT caught up with them and asked them about their motivation behind joining politics and what changes they would like to bring in their segments:
Anmol Gagan Mann, 31
AAP, Kharar
Education: Class 12
Background: Anmol is a Punjabi singer who hails from Mansa district and is staying in Mohali at present. After Class 12, she took admission in MCM DAV College, Chandigarh, but dropped out later. In 2013, she was crowned Miss Mohali Punjaban. Of late, she gained recognition for her fiery speeches during the farmers’ agitation.
Motivation: “I joined politics to bring a change in society as traditional parties in the past have only exploited the people and failed to fulfil the promises.”
Plans: “I will work towards bringing Kharar on a par with Mohali town, and make it a model town with all the basic amenities for the residents.”
By the way: At the age of 14, Anmol won the world folk dance completion in England. She is also a trained tumbi player.
Narinder Kaur Bharaj, 27
AAP, Sangrur
Education: Law graduate
Background: Coming from a humble background, Narinder, who hails from Bharaj village in Sangrur district, started her political journey at the age of 19. She started off as a social activist.
Motivation: “In the past eight years, I have seen that the problems of the public are much bigger than how they are projected and dealt with by politicians. This pushed me to take active electoral politics.”
Plans: “My aim is to work for the people of Sangrur. The key focus would be on better education and health system, generating employment and fighting the drug problem.”
By the way: According to the election affidavit, her net assets both movable and immovable is ₹24,000 and she is giving tuitions to school children in order to generate income.
Neena Mittal, 47
AAP, Rajpura
Education: Graduate
Background: Neena Mittal was a businesswoman before joining active politics in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Her family owns petrol and domestic gas agencies in and around Rajpura.
Motivation: “I did not feel dejected after faring badly in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Rather, I gained experience and plugged all gaps while preparing for the state elections.”
Plans: “Efforts will be made for the revival of industries in Rajpura which will help generate employment. Drug addiction problem among youth will be dealt with strictly.”
By the way: She had lost her security deposits in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But she continued to work for the party women cell and trade wing.
Amandeep Kaur Arora, 39
AAP, Moga
Education: MBBS
Background: Amandeep is a practicing physician and a political activist since 2015. Her father is retired army personnel and her three siblings are doctors. Husband Rakesh Arora is a government doctor.
Motivation: “AAP’s commitment to bring a change in politics encouraged me to quit my government job and become a full-time political activist.”
Plans: “I have decided to lead a cleanliness drive in Moga city and have fixed a meeting with the civil surgeon to audit shortcomings at the district hospital.”
By the way: Good at cooking, Amandeep misses spare time in her hectic professional life to cook for family and friends. During the Covid outbreak, she gave birth to a son and soon after, she was back on emergency medical duty.
Baljit Kaur, 46
AAP, Malout
Education: Master of surgery in ophthalmology
Background: Mother of two, she is a practicing eye surgeon. Her father Prof Sadhu Singh remained an AAP MP from Faridkot from 2014 to 2019. Kaur’s husband Daljit Singh is an executive engineer with the PSPCL.
Motivation: “I had never thought of joining politics but AAP leaders referred to my candidature. I joined politics as I wanted to contribute my bit to society.”
Plans: “Upgrade of a primary school in the town to a girls’ senior secondary is my priority. Government hospital needs attention and I will ensure all basic testing facilities there.”
By the way: She quit her job at the civil hospital to start a charitable hospital in Malout town. During election meetings at villages and colonies, she was attending eye patients.
Baljinder Kaur, 37
AAP, Talwandi Sabo
Education: MPhil in English
Background: Before taking a political plunge, Baljinder was earlier teaching at a private college in Fatehgarh Sahib. She won the seat for the second consecutive term in an electoral battle with ex-MLAs. She is the state president of the party’s women’s wing.
Motivation: “I was part of the Indian Against Corruption and the commitment of Arvind Kejriwal to fight conventional parties encouraged me to join politics.”
Plans: “Works needed for the constituency are no different from the state. A strict check on sale of banned narcotics and handling criminals is my top priority.”
By the way: A passionate music listener, she also likes to sing. She is a self-made politician who likes to work with people.
Saravjit Kaur Manuke, 49
AAP, Jagraon Reserved
Qualification: MA Economics, M.Com
Background: An Economics teacher and a social worker, Manuke has won the Jagraon seat for the second time in a row. She comes from a family of teachers. She remained a member of the question and reference committee of Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Presently, she was the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
Motivation: “I always wanted to see educated people join politics. I was first motivated by the Anna Hazare movement in 2011 after which I joined AAP and started to work for the party.”
Plans: “I have plans for development in my constituency. The water level is going down and there is also a serious problem of drainage. The green cover is also depleting and needs to be restored.”
By the way: Even after she won the elections in 2017 from Jagraon, she continued to take tuitions at home to give vent to her passion for teaching. She is a member of the Eco Club in Jagraon.
Rajinder Pal Kaur, 56
AAP, Ludhiana South
Education: Graduate
Background: Rajinder Pal Kaur has worked as a finance manager with Bajaj Impact. Her husband owns a machine tool factory in Ludhiana. Kaur was the front-runner for the AAP ticket from Ludhiana South in previous Assembly polls in 2017, but she could not contest.
Motivation: “I was first motivated by the Anna Hazare movement in 2011 after which I joined AAP and started to work for the party.”
Plans: “Punjab is in dire straits due to earlier corrupt governance. I plan to start with the development of roads and sewerage and work for the uplift of the poor.”
By the way: A travel enthusiast, she frequently takes adventure tours.
Jeevan Jyot Kaur, 50
AAP, Amritsar East
Education: LLB
Background: A social worker, Jeevan Jyot started her political journey in 2015 as an AAP volunteer. Before taking the political plunge, Kaur was known as ‘Padwoman of Punjab’, due to her extensive work in the field of women’s health through her NGO — SHE Society.
Motivation: “Social work encouraged me to join the politics as I could serve the people in a better way after acquiring a key political position.”
Plans: “My aim is to uplift the living standard of the residents of this constituency which is being deprived of even basic amenities.”
By the way: She is fond of singing and dancing. She was a bhangra performer at school and college level and won many competitions.
Ganieve Kaur, 46
SAD, Majitha
Education: Graduation, diploma in fine and decorative arts
Background: Ganieve is the wife of former minister Bikram Singh Majithia. Before her marriage in 2009, she was Christie’s Representative in India. She got interested in art through her family collection. She never participated in any political activities before.
Motivation: “I joined politics by chance. I never thought of it earlier. When the party fielded my husband from Amritsar East, I had to contest the polls on his place in Majitha”.
Plans: “Many works which were initiated by my husband in the constituency in the past are in a bad shape. I will ensure their completion. I would also like to work for women empowerment.”
By the way: Despite being associated with art before marriage, she is a homemaker and likes to spend time with her sons.
Aruna Chaudhary, 64
Congress, Dina Nagar
Education: BA, B.Ed
Background: Aruna Chaudhary is married to Ashok Chaudhary who has retired as an additional director, local bodies, Punjab. She is the daughter-in-law of Jai Muni Chaudhary, a four-time MLA of Dina Nagar reserved for SCs.
Motivation: “When my father-in-law represented this constituency, I started taking part in political activities. It led me to the assembly”.
Plans: “As my constituency falls along the Indo-Pak border, it faces many problems. Though I have ensured many infra development projects here,a lot needs to be done”.
By the way: This is the fourth time she has been elected as an MLA. Barring 2007 polls, she has been winning since then.
Inderjit Kaur Mann, 53
AAP, Nakodar Jalandhar
Education: Bachelor of arts
Background: A businesswoman from Nakodar, she remained associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal since 2002 when she contested block samiti polls. Later, she was elected sarpanch of Bir Pind in Nakodar constituency and remained sarpanch for 15 years. In 2021, she joined AAP.
Motivation: “I got motivation from my mother-in-law who has an inclination towards the Left ideology and has a free mind-set”.
Plans: “I will focus on giving corruption-free and smooth governance in my constituency, apart from providing better education and health services”.
By the way: She has been facing theft and illegal mining case registered at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district which she termed a political vendetta.
Santosh Kumar Kataria, 55
AAP, Balachaur
Education: Diploma in vocational training
Background: Coming from the political family of the Gujjar community, she got elected to zila parishad in 2002. Later, she contested assembly polls from the Balachaur constituency and lost to SAD leader Nand Lal. Her father-in-law, Ram Krishan remained a two-time MLA from Balachaur whereas she joined AAP 2.5 years ago.
Motivation: “Though I am from a non-political family, my father-in-law motivated and supported me to join politics.”
Plans: “I plan to eradicate drugs and illegal liquor trade from my constituency. I will seek a special package for the development of the kandi area.”
By the way: She is the first woman who was elected an MLA from the Balachaur seat.
(Contributed by Hillary Victor, Gagandeep Jassowal, Surjit Singh, Vishal Joshi, Aneesha Sareen Kumar & Navrajdeep Singh)
