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Hot seat: Rampura Phul Two ex-ministers locked in a tough battle again
BATHINDA: A triangular electoral contest is on the cards in the rural seat of Rampura Phul that has witnessed a fight between traditional political heavyweights of the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
BATHINDA: A triangular electoral contest is on the cards in the rural seat of Rampura Phul that has witnessed a fight between traditional political heavyweights of the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Incumbent Congress MLA Gurpreet Singh Kangar and veteran Akali leader Sikander Singh Maluka have been taking turns to win the constituency since 2002 when the former won as an independent by 2,659 votes. Later, Kanagar joined the Congress and won again in 2007 and 2017.
But this time, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Balkar Sidhu, a party hopper, may hold the key to the contest. A famous Punjabi singer-actor, Sidhu has added glamour to the contest. He took a political plunge to become AAP’s candidate from the Talwandi Sabo seat in the 2014 bypoll. However, he had to withdraw from his maiden contest owing to allegations of human trafficking. Sidhu had later unsuccessfully contested as an Independent and remained unhappy with the way AAP had scrapped his ticket. In February 2016, the professional entertainer joined the Congress.
Known as a close friend of AAP’s chief minister face Bhagwant Mann, Sidhu re-joined the party to contest from Rampura Pul this time. Sidhu got a boost when Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) candidate Jaskaran Singh Buttar announced to retire from the contest in his support.
Located in Bathinda district, Rampura Phul is a constituent of Faridkot (reserve) Lok Sabha seat. This assembly seat has nearly 30% Dalit voters and the party candidates made all-out efforts to win over their support.
Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) has fielded Amarjit Singh Sharma from the seat.
Mehraj, the ancestral place of PLC chief Captain Amarinder Singh, falls in Rampura Phul and the former CM is considered to have an influence in the semi-urban town having an estimated 8,000 voters that may impact the results in the close contest.
In the 2017 polls, AAP got 32,639 votes and Sidhu tried to expand the support base by trying to woo the first-time voters in the name of “rajnitik baldvao”. He is banking on the AAP undercurrent in south Malwa.
In 2017 elections, Kangar defeated Maluka by a margin of 10,325 votes to become a cabinet minister in the Captain Amarinder Singh government. Kangar, who was removed from the state cabinet after Capt Amarinder resigned as the CM in September, succeeded to get the party ticket due to his loyalty with the Congress leadership.
Kangar had organised a rally that was chaired by chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi where the latter assured him a ticket. He appeals to electors to consider development undertaken in the constituency in the last five years. The SAD initially faced an unexpected dissidence when Maluka was denied the ticket from the Maur segment in Bathinda. Maluka wanted his son Gurpreet to be fielded from Rampura Phul, but party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal rejected the demand.
A two-time minister, Maluka is an influential Akali leader in the south Malwa belt, particularly the Bathinda Lok Sabha area comprising the Bathinda and Mansa districts. The veteran leader is known for his proximity to Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal. Maluka is seeking votes in the name development works initiated during his tenure under the Akali regime in 2012.
