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Campaign trail | Former IPS-officer Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh on a mission to ‘redefine politics’
Fighting from Amritsar North on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket, Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, the 1998-batch IPS officer, who opted for premature retirement from service in April last year, says that in the second innings of public service, he wants to redefine politics.
Having risen to fame as the chief investigator of the post-sacrilege police firing incident, former inspector general (IG) of Punjab Police, Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh has taken the political plunge with a vow to “set an example”.
Fighting from Amritsar North on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket, the 1998-batch IPS officer, who opted for premature retirement from service in April last year, says that in the second innings of his public service, he wants to redefine politics.
“I have come to introduce a new kind of politics – one in which the common man is supreme,” he says while addressing a poll meeting.
Singh is pitted against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)’s Anil Joshi, a two-time MLA from Amritsar North and a former local bodies’ minister, and Congress’ sitting MLA Sunil Dutti. Like his politically experienced opponents, Singh has no qualms about taking jibes at his rivals.
“These elections are the last chance for Punjabis to save their state, these elections are being contested for the next generation,” he says.
He also reminds the voters of his stint as the senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Amritsar, during which he probed a number of high-profile cases, including the 2002 Amritsar kidney scam.
Singh, however, steers clear of mentioning his role as the chief investigator of the sacrilege-related case even as Sikh activists campaigning for him can be seen citing his “contribution”.
The former IPS officer had quit the service on April 9, 2021, after the Punjab and Haryana high court quashed the Kotkapura firing probe report filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by him.
Striking a chord with voters
Though Singh has his roots in Bihar, he has been able to strike a chord with Punjab’s voters. For starters, he is fluent in Punjabi which helps him blend in easily. Also, due to his background, he holds sway over the migrant community in the constituency. “He comes from the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh. The Guru has sent him on a mission to Punjab,” an elderly Sikh man was heard saying during one of his meetings.
Apart from approaching the voters with AAP’s promise of changing the system, Singh also speaks of his vision of ensuring holistic development for the city, particularly in this segment where lack of basic facilities and crumbling infrastructure are the main issues concerning people.
On the other hand, his main contender Joshi, who was expelled by BJP for taking stand in favour of farmers during the agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws, is trying to garner support by listing out the works he carried out during his tenure as the Punjab local bodies minister of the SAD-BJP regime.
