Moga MC poll: MLA Jain, Tota Singh at loggerheads over ticket distribution : The Tribune India

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Moga MC poll: MLA Jain, Tota Singh at loggerheads over ticket distribution

MOGA: Moga MLA Joginder Pal Jain and senior Akali leader and Agriculture Minister Jathedar Tota Singh are at loggerheads to accommodate their loyalists in the Municipal Corporation elections, which are due next month.



Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, January 28

Moga MLA Joginder Pal Jain and senior Akali leader and Agriculture Minister Jathedar Tota Singh are at loggerheads to accommodate their loyalists in the Municipal Corporation elections, which are due next month.

The party in-charge for the local body polls, Irrigation Minister Sharanjit Dhillon, held a meeting with Jain and Tota Singh along with a few local leaders here yesterday to reach a consensus on the party candidates, but no decision could be taken due to factionalism within the party at the local level.

In the erstwhile Municipal Council, there were 31 wards. However, after the formation of the corporation, the wards were increased to 50 with the inclusion of five villages in the city limits.

The SAD-BJP combine had won 28 seats, while three Independents were elected in the erstwhile local body. The BJP was given 10 seats, while the SAD had fought on 21 seats. This time, the SAD leadership has decided to leave 17 seats for the BJP, but BJP insiders say they look forward to contest on 25 seats.

Even as the final decision on the BJP share in seats is yet to be taken, fissures have started developing within the local SAD leadership over ticket distribution.

Jain, being the local MLA, desires to have total control on the local body by fielding his supporters in the polls, while Tota Singh wants to accommodate his party loyalists who were councillors in the erstwhile Municipal Council.

Senior Akali leader’s son Barjinder Singh Brar was the president in the previous elected body.

When contacted, Brar said all former councillors deserve to be given the party ticket because they all had sacrificed their positions to pave the way for the formation of corporation.

“I and all my colleagues, including the BJP members, resigned from our posts and recommended to the state government to upgrade the local body status to corporation. We are the founders of the corporation and how can we be denied party tickets,” he questioned.

In reply to a question, Brar said if the senior party leadership wants him to lead the Akali Dal in the polls, he would resign from his present position and contest the elections. He is currently Chairman of the Punjab Health Systems’ Corporation, but internally desires to become the first Mayor of Moga city.

On the other hand, Jain has already started projecting his younger son Akshit Jain for the Mayor’s post. Both Jain and his wife Swaran Lata Jain had also served as president in the erstwhile council for many years.

However, Akshit’s claim for this post is being countered by Tota Singh’s loyalists on the pretext that he along with all his family members had been sentenced to one-year imprisonment by a local court in the illegal colony case, a few months ago. The appeal against conviction is still pending before a district and sessions court here.

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