SAD takes another gamble in Jandiala

Neeraj Bagga

The Shiromani Akali Dal’s gamble of replacing the then sitting MLA Malkiat Singh AR from this predominantly rural constituency paid off in 2012. Party candidate Baljit Singh Jalalusma won the Jandiala seat by a margin of over 7,000 votes. Now, the ruling party has done it again, replacing Jalalusma with Dr Dalbir Singh Verka.

Situated on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Road, about 15 km from the holy city of Amritsar, Jandiala has been an Akali bastion. Congress leader Sardul Singh Badala upset the SAD applecart in 1992 and 2002. He served as the Excise and Taxation Minister in the Capt Amarinder Singh government. The Congress has now fielded Sardul's son Sukhjinder Singh Danny Bandala.

AAP has picked a native of Jandiala town, Harbhajan Singh, who left his job in the Excise and Taxation Department to enter politics.

The constituency boasts of renowned Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal, once headed by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM).

The farming community, which forms a major chunk of the electorate, is unhappy with the ruling combine. Raipur Kalan village’s Gurdial Singh says the government has given a raw deal to the growers of paddy varieties 1,509 and 1,121. “These varieties were sold at Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 per quintal, respectively, in the open market during the past couple of harvesting seasons. How did the rates shoot up to Rs 4,300 per quintal once the procurement was over? Ki eh sarkar kisan di lootmar nahin rok sakdi? (Can’t this government stop farmers from being looted?)” Gadali village’s Sukhraj Singh puts it bluntly, “The Akalis are no longer bothered about the farmers.”

Showing the poor condition of roads in his village, Jalalusma, Sukhdev Singh Randhawa says, “Eh performance hai Akali MLA de jaddi pind di. Uh naale Shiromani committee da member wi hai. Uh ghat ta nahi kise ton (This is the MLA’s performance in his ancestral village. He’s also an SGPC member. Is he any less influential than other MLAs?)”

Residents say the government failed to deliver on its promises of building a government college and a bus stand, while government schools and hospitals continue to have many vacancies.