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Punjab polls: Family matters

I am a representative of people, not a leader or a politician

AMRITSAR: When Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal waged the war against corruption at Jantar Mantar, Balwinder Singh Sahota had just returned from Thailand, leaving his six figure-salary and potentially hi-end career as a software engineer in hope of serving his own people.

I am a representative of people, not a leader or a politician

AAP Amritsar (West) candidate Balwinder Singh Sahota (centre) with his family members in Amritsar on Sunday. Photo: Vishal Kumar



Neha Saini

Tribune news service

Amritsar, January 8

When Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal waged the war against corruption at Jantar Mantar, Balwinder Singh Sahota had just returned from Thailand, leaving his six figure-salary and potentially hi-end career as a software engineer in hope of serving his own people. 

“I thought the time for common man to bring out the leader in them had come,” says Sahota, the 39-year-old AAP candidate from Amritsar West constituency. Over the time, he was an observer of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) movement. He worked from side lanes of his humble house in Kot Khalsa’s Indira Colony and understands problems that need to be addressed. 

“Even today, I cannot forget taste of the drinking water mixed with sewage that we were forced to gulp down because we did not have any other choice. I can still remember the severe stomach pain we suffered due to drinking that polluted water. Nothing has changed in this area,” he says. 

Living with his mother Harbans Kaur (64), and his three brothers at his ancestral house in Kot Khalsa, Sahota’s priority lies on getting the basics right. He says, “I thought that one can only bring about change if we become a part of the system. So, I contested elections in 2012 as an independent candidate from Ward No. 62. It was learning experience for me on how to contest elections.” 

He got close to 700 votes, but the gold medalist in MSc (statistics) remained undeterred. “I am asked many times why I entered politics despite being so well educated. I still do not have a suitable answer. Why cannot politics be associated with educated people?” he says while airing that he doesn’t like to call himself a politician. “I am a representative of the people, not a leader or politician,” he adds. His mother Harbans Kaur is his mentor. Despite being uneducated herself and a housewife all her life, she never compromised on her children’s education. “Not many youngsters or their parents think about education here. In fact, my son was an achiever back in the 1997. He was the first from our locality to have graduated. He is disciplined and works with honest intentions. I am happy that he is into politics as we need people to be a part of the system and not shy away from it,” says Harbans Kaur. 

His sister-in-law, who is also a housewife shares that the family has been working on his campaign trail as one big project. His three siblings, two elder brothers and a younger sister are supporting him right from campaigning to hosting community discussions for elections on his behalf. 

Sahota says, “We are targeting 40,000 households through door-to-door campaigning. So far, we have managed to cover 40 per cent houses. A lot of work is still to be done.”

“I feel education is the most important agenda on my list as this area has lot of unemployed, unskilled and aimless youth, who need to be channelised. I have worked as a daily wager, driven rickshaw and even done menial jobs in university just to support my education. So, I know its importance,” he says. 

Sahota mobilised youngsters from Indira Colony to transform a garbage dump in front of his house into a park. “I am relying more on people-to-people interaction for my campaign, as I have grown up here and know issues in and out,” he adds. His wife and three year-old daughter are in Delhi. He says, “She supports me, but remains on the outside. She knows I have taken my decision.” 

The only regret he carries is that like many fellow Indians he, too, still craves for a house. “I have been trying to complete the construction of my home in Indira Nagar since past three years. I hope to finish it someday,” he says.

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