Congress MLA and former mayor Sunil Dutti is seen struggling to retain the seat of Amritsar North as both the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have brought out their big guns — former minister Anil Joshi and ex-IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, respectively.
The assembly segment comprises largely urban, some semi-urban and a few rural localities. Amritsar’s Civil Lines area that was developed during the British rule for its senior civilian officers and other tony parts of the city also fall in this segment. Though the electorate has elected Hindu representatives so far, Sikhs comprise more than 50% of the population. Voters belonging to scheduled castes besides migrant labourers are also in big numbers here.
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So far, the main fight has been between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the BJP and its predecessor Janata Party have won the seat four times, the Congress has won it five times since 1997.
With the two-time BJP MLA Anil Joshi, who represented the seat from 2007 to 2017, joining the SAD, the Panthic party is contesting the assembly polls from here for the first time. Joshi was expelled from the saffron party for taking a stand in favour of farmers agitating against the Centre’s three farm laws. He is known as one of the prominent Hindu mass leaders in Punjab and is running his campaign in full strength. He is trying to garner support of the voters by listing the works done by him during his tenure as the Punjab local bodies minister during the SAD-BJP regime.
{{/usCountry}}With the two-time BJP MLA Anil Joshi, who represented the seat from 2007 to 2017, joining the SAD, the Panthic party is contesting the assembly polls from here for the first time. Joshi was expelled from the saffron party for taking a stand in favour of farmers agitating against the Centre’s three farm laws. He is known as one of the prominent Hindu mass leaders in Punjab and is running his campaign in full strength. He is trying to garner support of the voters by listing the works done by him during his tenure as the Punjab local bodies minister during the SAD-BJP regime.
{{/usCountry}}With Joshi gone, BJP losing influence
In Joshi’s absence, the BJP is not being able to show its old influence in the segment. While all other major parties have fielded their Hindu faces on this seat, the saffron party has fielded its low-profile Sikh face Sukhminder Singh Pintu, who was elected the councillor twice in the past.
Kunwar Vijay Prartap, who once served as the Amritsar SSP and came to limelight across Punjab as the main investigator in the 2015’s post-sacrilege police firing incidents, is relying on the “Aam Aadmi” tag. With his roots in Bihar, he is also betting on support from the migrant community living in the segment.
While campaigning, he is seen approaching all sections of the segment and publicising the AAP’s promise to change the system as well as his own vision of ensuring holistic development of the city, particularly this segment where lack of basic facilities and crumbling infrastructure are the main issues concerning the people. Unlike the 2017 polls, when the AAP candidate got a lukewarm response, Kunwar Vijay Pratap is being seen among two top contenders by local political observers.
As far as Dutti is concerned, he is facing anti-incumbency, even as he keeps claiming to have worked selflessly and fearlessly amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also listing the works done during his mayorship in Amritsar. Worrisome for him is the fact that many Congress councillors from this segment, including incumbent mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu and District Planning Board chairman Rajkanwalpreetpal Singh Lucky, are not seen campaigning for him. Both Rintu and Lucky had staked claim to the party ticket, but were denied.
“I am not facing any challenge from opponents, because the work done by me speaks for itself, and the people will surely favour me on the polling day,” says Dutti, even as his predecessor and contender Anil Joshi says, “He has failed to keep the standards set by me intact.”