Congress on a weak wicket in Bholath

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 18

The failure of the Congress in filling a vacuum left in Bholath by its leader Sukhpal Khaira, who is now Aam Aadmi Party candidate from the seat, has visibly put the party on a weak wicket from the constituency for the coming Assembly elections.

The party could not pick any leader from among local workers and project him as the new face for more than a year. Khaira, who has contested from the seat four times and had won once, had left the party in December last year. Many local leaders had tried to assert themselves but the party leadership remained indecisive till the end.

Finally, Congress sprung a surprise and dropped former MLA Gurbinder Atwal as the new name from the seat. Atwal, who was more interested in Nakodar and has today filed his papers from the seat as Independent candidate from there, did not show any keenness in moving to the new seat.

Even as Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh had taken an initiative to prepare new turf for him and had called a meeting of local leaders to draw their support for Atwal post announcement of his candidature, the entire situation turned all the more messy. The unrest of workers took the shape of a violent clash with two sides throwing chairs on one another and an FIR getting lodged against Rana Gurjit Singh and two others for tossing of turban of a worker, Kulwinder Babbal.

In the meantime, Atwal wrote to AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi expressing his unwillingness to contest from the seat owing to non-cooperation by party workers. With Babbal’s case going wrong post the lodging of FIR (he was otherwise a frontrunner among locals earlier), the party had fewer choices. It picked Ranjit Singh Rana, who had been sitting Akali MLA Bibi Jagir Kaur’s protégé till about six months ago before joining the Congress.

Within three days of being declared as candidate, a bigger turmoil ensued today. Opposing the candidature of Ranjit Singh Rana, all senior leaders of the Congress today came in support of Sukhpal Khaira. Among those who opposed the Congress high command’s decision to allot the Congress ticket to Ranjit Singh are Pritam Singh Sikri, secretary PPCC; Avtar Singh Walia, secretary, PPCC; Stephan Kala, president, Nadal block; Shriniwas Kuku, secretary, PPCC; Darbara Singh Sony, former, MC, Dhilwan; Dr Mehar Singh Ahluwalia, senior Congress leader. As the Congress workers came on the support of AAP candidate at the residence of Walia, approximately 300 other Congress workers were present.

Rana Gurjit Singh reacted to the situation by saying, “We have about 25,000 intact Congress cadre in Bholath even after Khaira left and we will surely win. Some people with their vested interests have ditched the party. There are not many people attached with them and it will not make much of a difference to our party candidate”.

Even as the SAD picked the son-in-law of three-time Akali MLA Jagir Kaur, Yuvraj Bhupinder Singh, from Bholath, she continued to make relentless efforts till yesterday to get a stay on her conviction from the court so as to be able to contest the elections. Her application was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court after which she again moved another application making her case stronger and citing relief given to another Akali leader Sucha Singh Langah on similar grounds.

She had even moved her case to the Supreme Court where her petition got rejected yesterday, on the penultimate day of filing of papers. Her endless moves are being seen as a desperate attempt on her part to get the ticket back from her son-in-law. Khaira took a jibe on her saying, “This clearly shows that she does not trust her son-in-law even. I would rather had been happier had she contested herself this time again”.

Endless effort by Bibi shows no trust in son-in-law, says Khaira 

Even as the SAD picked the son-in-law of three-time Akali MLA Jagir Kaur, Yuvraj Bhupinder Singh, from Bholath, she continued to make relentless efforts till yesterday to get a stay on her conviction from the court so as to be able to contest the elections. Her application was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court after which she again moved another application making her case stronger and citing relief given to another Akali leader Sucha Singh Langah on similar grounds. She had even moved her case to the Supreme Court where her petition got rejected yesterday, on the penultimate day of filing of papers. Her endless moves are being seen as a desperate attempt on her part to get the ticket back from her son-in-law. Khaira took a jibe on her saying, “This clearly shows that she does not trust her son-in-law even. I would rather had been happier had she contested herself this time again”.