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It’s outsider vs outsider in Dhuri
The state’s main political players have reposed faith in ‘outsiders’ in this assembly constituency of Sangrur district dominated by semi-urban voters. Ravinder Vasudeva reports.
The state’s main political players have reposed faith in ‘outsiders’ in this assembly constituency of Sangrur district dominated by semi-urban voters.
While the Congress has fielded PPCC president Amarinder Singh’s close aide Arvind Khanna who is from Sangrur town, the SAD’s candidate is former minister Gobind Singh Longowal who is from Longowal village situated outside Dhuri.
Though Sanjha Morcha nominee Gaganjit Singh Barnala has contested from Dhuri earlier, he too is an ‘outsider’ as his home is in Barnala.
The ‘outsider’ tag evokes high emotions here.
In SAD, a number of leaders even raised the banner of revolt, accusing the party of having forced an outsider upon them, and former MLA and former chief parliamentary secretary Surinder Singh Dhuri resigned from the party on the same issue.
Similarly, in the Congress, a number of local leaders have joined either Barnala or the SAD alleging Arvind Khanna is, yes, an “outsider”.
“Political parties seem least bothered about the aspirations of Dhuri residents as only outsiders have been fielded from here who must not be aware of the problems of the area, forget solving them,” said Dhuri resident Pritam Singh.
