E-Paper
Punjab polls: All parties bet on fresh faces this election
With the entry of new outfits and forging of alliances ahead of Punjab polls, a large number of first-timers have got a chance to try their luck in politics
In the multi-cornered contest for the Punjab assembly seats, political parties across the board are banking on fresh faces. With the entry of new outfits and forging of alliances, a large number of first-timers have got a chance to try their luck in politics.
The three main political parties in the state — Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — have fielded 26, 17 and 15 fresh faces, respectively. For SAD, these first-timers account for 28% of its candidates, as the party is contesting on 97 seats in the 117-strong assembly, with the remaining 20 going to its ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which has fielded 18 (90%) fresh faces.
For the Congress and AAP, which are fighting on all seats, the ratio of first-timers stands at 14.5% and 13%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance has fielded 61 (52%) fresh faces, and the farm unions’ alliance led by Sanyukt Samaj Morcha has 102 (87%) first-timers. In all, of 585 candidates fielded by these outfits, 239 (40%) are fresh faces.
The SAD has launched first-timers Winnerjit Singh Goldy, who worked in the party’s Students Organisation of India, from Sangrur; Jasdeep Kaur, wife of party worker Yadwinder Singh Yadu, from Khanna; and Ravi Karan Singh Kahlon, son for former Vidhan Sabha speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, from Fatehgarh Churian. Other fresh faces are Jaspal Singh Bittu Chatha from Patiala Rural and Capt Harminder Singh from Sultanpur Lodhi.
Entry of former cabinet minister and senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s wife Ganieve Majthia from Majitha came as a big surprise. Talbir Singh Gill, who is a first-time contestant from Amritsar South, is also Majithia’s close confidant. SAD’s alliance partner BSP has fielded 18 fresh faces, including its state president Jasvir Singh Garhi who is contesting from Phagwara.
“All our candidates, including first-timers, are our committed workers and have been working for the party for many years,” said Garhi.
The Congress has given the chance to new entrant Sandeep Jakhar from Abohar, replacing his uncle and party’s former state chief Sunil Jakhar. Other prominent first-timers in the party are Mohit Mohindra, son of cabinet minister Brahm Mohindra, from Patiala Rural; Jaswinder Singh Dhiman, son of former MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman, from Sunam; Manish Bansal, son of former Union minister Pawan Bansal, from Barnala; and Smit Singh Mann, son of former MLA Dhanwant Singh and confidant of party’s state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, from Amargarh.
Candidates who sprung a surprise in Congress’ list include former Youth Congress president Amanpreet Lalli, who has been fielded from Garhshankar, and Sukhwinder Singh Kotli, who is fighting from Adampur and replaced party’s former state president Mohinder Singh Kay Pee after the latter’s unsuccessful bid from the seat in 2017.
Meanwhile, the AAP has given a chance to Punjabi folk singer Anmol Gagan Mann from Kharar and former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Partap from Amritsar North besides Narinder Kaur Bharaj from Sangrur and Mandeep Kaur from Moga. Before the poll announcement, Anmol Gagan Mann was actively campaigning in the entire state, but is now focusing on her segment in Mohali district.
“Fresh faces give a new life to the party’s campaign. Experienced leaders are also important for the party, but simultaneously, we need to build new leadership; so it is better to catch them young,” said an AAP leader, adding that the candidature of 10 sitting MLAs was announced in the first list. A number of candidates in the party are second-timers who unsuccessfully contested the 2017 state polls, when the party entered Punjab politics for the first time.
BJP, SSM brimming with first-timers
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting on 66 seats, while former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) has got 35 and Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD (Sanyukt) 16 seats in the tripartite alliance.
While both the BJP and SAD (Sanyukt) have 56% fresh faces, with 37 and nine first-timers, respectively, the PLC has given the chance to 15 (40%).
Among them, National minorities commission chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura is the BJP candidate from Ropar, industrialist Sanjeev Vashisht from Mohali, and Nimisha Mehta, who joined the saffron party leaving the Congress, from Garhshankar. Kamaldeep Singh Saini, a confidant of Capt Amarinder Singh, is the party’s candidate from Kharar.
Meanwhile, SSM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal is among 92 first-time contestants fielded by the farmers’ front. According to Prem Singh Bhangu, the party’s parliamentary board head, other than farm body leaders, the SSM has given the chance to people from all sections of society, including professionals and entrepreneurs. Its alliance partner Sanyukt Sangharsh Party (SSP) has fielded fresh faces on all 10 seats in its share.
First-timers who are carrying on their family’s legacy
Son, daughter, wife, brother, nephew — here are candidates from political families who are taking their first poll plunge. While some had been doing the groundwork for quite some time, there are others who are political novices banking on their family name.
Jagroop Singh Sekhwan (34), AAP, Qadian
Son of former Akali cabinet minister late Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Jagroop practises law at the Punjab and Haryana high court. Among the youngest faces in the fray, the 34-year-old learned the ropes by staying on his father’s side during poll campaigns. As his father had joined the Aam Aadmi Party a few months before his death last year, the party fielded Jagroop from Qadian segment in Gurdaspur. Jagroop is a fine orator just like his father.
Ganieve Kaur (46), SAD, Majitha
Wife of former cabinet minister and senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, Ganieve landed in the poll scene all of a sudden when her husband took up Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s challenge to contest the elections from Amritsar East alone, and left her to hold the fort at Majitha. In her affidavit, Kaur describes herself as a businesswoman and agriculturist. Before her marriage in 2009, Kaur was British auction house Christie’s representative in India.
Ravikaran Singh Kahlon (48), SAD, Dera Baba Nanak
Son of Akali stalwart and former Punjab assembly speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Ravikaran remained in-charge of the Fatehgarh Churian assembly segment, but has been fielded from the adjoining Dera Baba Nanak segment in Gurdaspur district. A former Youth Akali Dal leader, Kahlon runs a transport firm in Majha region and is a resident of Dadu Jodh village in Fatehgarh Churian. He will be challenging senior Congress leader and deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
Manish Bansal (43), Congress, Barnala
Son of former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Manish studied law from Panjab University and has worked as the Haryana additional advocate general besides serving as the treasurer of Punjab Youth Congress. He got the Barnala ticket after the Congress denied the claim of two-time former MLA Kewal Singh Dhillon. Though residing in Chandigarh, Bansals belong to Tapa town in Barnala district, a fact Manish has been highlighting to counter the outsider tag.
Jaswinder Singh Dhiman (35, Congress, Sunam
Jaswinder is the son of Congress leader and Amargarh MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman’s brother Amarjit Singh. A Youth Congress leader, he graduated from Panjab University and has been politically active in the Dirba segment of Sangrur district. The Congress showed faith in him and gave him the Sunam ticket, denying the claim of another youth leader, Daman Thind Bajwa. However, Surjit Dhiman had to leave his Amargarh seat due to the party’s “one family, one ticket” rule.
Smit Singh Mann (31), Congress, Amargarh
The son of two-time Dhuri MLA Dhanwant Singh, Mann is a close relative of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Most of the villages under Amargarh were previously part of the Dhuri segment. Mann had an international sporting career in shooting and did his masters in science from the University of Oxford, England. Before getting the party ticket, Mann was working in Sidhu’s team. He has started his election campaign in Amargarh after getting the ticket.
Rana Inder Pratap Singh (42), Independent, Sultanpur Lodhi
Punjab cabinet minister Rana Gurjeet Singh’s son Inder Pratap Singh is contesting as an independent candidate against sitting Congress MLA Navtej Singh Cheema in Sultanpur Lodhi. A postgraduate in business from the University of Kent, Inder Pratap has been campaigning in the segment for the past three months, mainly targeting Cheema, his father’s arch-rival. Rana Gurjeet is known for his political prowess in penetrating his opponents’ strongholds, a skill on display by Inder Pratap too.
Damanvir Singh Phillaur (40), SAD (Sanyukt), Phillaur
Son of six-time Punjab legislator and former minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Damanvir Singh has been fielded by Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) from Phillaur assembly segment in Jalandhar district. An undergraduate, Damanvir is up against arch-rival Vikram Singh, son of Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh, who is contesting on the Congress ticket. Mainly focusing on issues such as illegal sand mining, corruption and drug menace while campaigning, Damanvir is himself facing a money laundering case.
Kamil Amar Singh (34), Congress, Raikot
Holding an MBA degree from the University of Cambridge, UK, Kamil is the son of Fatehgarh Sahib MP Amar Singh. Politically active in Raikot since 2011, he has remained a Punjab Congress spokesperson and campaign in-charge in the 2012 and 2017 state elections and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Earlier, Kamil has also worked in MNCs and startups, gaining managerial experience, which he promises to use in bringing more development to Raikot, a reserved seat.
Mohit Mohindra (32), Congress, Patiala Rural
The candidature of Mohit Mohindra came as no surprise, as he has been actively handling his father and cabinet minister Brahm Mohindra’s political affairs in the Patiala Rural assembly segment for the past some time. A law graduate, he is presently the vice-president of Punjab Youth Congress. A sports enthusiast, he represented the Punjab cricket team at national level. Mohit is also running Ardas Foundation, which works for women’s empowerment and giving boost to sporting culture in Patiala.
Kanwarveer Singh (33), BJP, Amloh
Grandson of Akali stalwart late Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Kanwarveer is contesting elections on the Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib district. A master in business administration, he parted ways with Akalis after Tohra family was denied a ticket. Politically novice, he is banking on the legacy of his maternal grandfather, even though his mother Kuldeep Kaur and father and former minister Harmail Singh have not come out in his support yet.
Dr Manohar Singh (56), Independent, Bassi Pathana
The younger brother of chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Dr Manohar Singh is contesting as an independent from Bassi Pathana in Fatehgarh Sahib. He had resigned from the post of senior medical officer in Kharar in December last year and started holding gatherings of Congress workers in Bassi Pathana, but was denied the ticket. A postgraduate in anaesthesia, Dr Manohar has also done masters in journalism from Kurukshetra University and is a law graduate from Panjab University.
Sandeep Jakhar (45), Congress, Abohar
A former district president of Youth Congress in Fazilka, Sandeep is the fourth person from Jakhar family to take electoral plunge from their stronghold Abohar. An alumnus of prestigious Mayo College (Ajmer) and Florida International University, he had been nurturing the segment after his uncle and former Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar lost it in the last elections. Sandeep’s grandfather late Balram Jakhar was the Lok Sabha speaker, and father late Surinder Jakhar served as IFFCO chairman.
Gurmeet Singh Khudian (59), AAP, Lambi
A former president of the Congress in Muktsar district, Gurmeet was a close confidant of former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and quit the party in July last year to join the AAP. His father late Jagdev Singh Khudian was elected a Lok Sabha member from Faridkot in 1989. In 2017, when Captain contested against Parkash Singh Badal from Lambi, Gurmeet was his covering candidate. This time, Gurmeet is himself challenging the Akali patriarch.
Baljit Kaur (46), AAP, Malout
A trained ophthalmologist, Baljit Kaur is the daughter of Prof Sadhu Singh, who was the AAP MP from Faridkot from 2014 to 2019. During her posting in Muktsar district, she became a recognised face for her work. She also has a flair for writing on social issues in journals and penning poetry. She took premature retirement from the state health department in November 2020 to follow in her father’s footsteps and take a poll plunge.
(Contributed by Vishal Joshi, Surjit Singh, Aneesha Sareen Kumar, Avtar Singh, Navrajdeep Singh and Gagandeep Singh)
