Hat-trick for Bhandari from Jalandhar (North), wait prolonged for Bhagat, Kalia

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 11

Ending the prolonged delay in announcing the list of candidates to contest the 2017 assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally announced Krishan Dev Bhandari, 49, as its candidate from Jalandhar (North) seat as its candidate. However, he seats for Jalandhar (West) and Jalandhar (Central) have been put on hold for further consultations.

Bhandari will contest for the third time from the same assembly constituency. Earlier, he had defeated Congress candidate Avtar henry by 4,929 votes in 2007 and by 1,703 votes in 2012 assembly elections. J

Bhandari’s home erupted with joy with supporters gathering at his residence with ‘Dhol’ and dancing along with him. Sweets were distributed to the supporters gathered there.

When contacted, an elated Bhandari thanked the BJP high command for putting its faith again in him and said he will continue to work for the uplift of the area and its residents. Known to be close to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, Bhandari was even made Chief Parliamentary Secretary by him. A die-hard fitness freak, Bhandari has a major say in the SAD-BJP alliance and was instrumental in getting the sports hub concept included in the smart city plan.

His other achievements included fulfilling a 30- year-old demand of city residents— a railway under bridge at Chandan Nagar. Known for his close proximity to Mayor Sunil Jyoti, Bhandari’s constituency has always remained a top priority for development projects initiated by the Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar (MCJ). However, his name was once dragged into controversy on alleged bungling of funds released for the construction of Suanussi road.

Wait gets longer for Kalia and Bhagat

Known to enjoy close proximity to central BJP leadership and state BJP Chief Vijay Sampla, former cabinet Minister and MLA from Jalandhar (Central) Manoranjan Kalia’s name has been put on hold by the central leadership for further consultations.

A law graduate, 58-year- old Kalia too fought the elections twice from the same constituency. In 2007, he defeated Congress candidate Tejinder Bittu by 19,009 votes and in 2012, defeated Congress candidate Rajinder Beri by a margin of 1, 075 votes.

Known for his aggressive speech, his tenure as an MLA was full of challenges as he faced strong opposition from within the party. Due to this, he could not stage a comeback in a mainstream role in the coalition government.

Recently, Kalia was dragged into yet another controversy when a student was murdered in broad daylight in his area and he was accused of providing shelter to his killers.

Taking immediate measures, the BJP district unit expelled Kishan Lal Sharma who had levelled the serious allegations against him and held various ‘Lalkaar’ rallies in his area to show his strength. Though Kalia got approval for two rail overbridges and a flyover for the constituency, the work on it is yet to get started.

Bhagat’s fate too hangs in balance. Though holding the number three position in the coalition government, the ‘silent’ Cabinet Minister failed to get any significant project for the area. A major fiasco remained the confusion over the construction of an elevated road between Jalandhar and Kapurthala whose prolonged delay for over and a year and half had caused immense loss to the Jalandhar industry comprising sports, surgical goods and leather products.

Also, despite getting approval for the construction of Satguru Kabir Construction Skill Development Centre, not even a brick has been laid till date.

Another major factor that could possibly play spoilsport into his candidature is his age due to which he now remained inaccessible to the people in the area.

His son Mohiner Bhagat, now holds the reins and is an aspirant for a ticket from the Jalandhar (West) Assembly constituency.