Punjab poll: AAP becomes first party to announce candidates for all Amritsar district Assembly seats

Neeraj Bagga

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 3

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has become the first party to have released names of candidates for all 11 Assembly seats of this border district.

Today, the party announced the names of Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli Majithia, who recently switched over to the AAP from the Congress and Dr Ajay Gupta from the Majitha and Amritsar Central constituency, respectively.

Amid all candidates fielded here, Lalli Majithia is considered a heavyweight. Though he had lost past three Assembly elections consecutively to senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, yet he steadfastly maintained his vote bank. A medico, Dr Gupta had contested the last Assembly election from the same constituency but he did not make any perceptible impact on voters despite a wave in favour of his party in the run up to the 2017 Assembly election.

It is to be seen, could he deliver in the forthcoming election when there is no wave for any party? He is pitted against OP Soni, Deputy CM.

A prominent entrant to the party fold Kunwar Vijay Pratap, who took voluntary retirement, was fielded from the Amritsar’s North Assembly segment, which is being represented by Congress MLA Sunil Dutti. SAD BSP combine had already announced Anil Joshi as their candidate.

AAP has given mandate to Jeevanjot Kaur for the Amritsar East constituency, which is held by PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu. A spokesperson of AAP, Punjab is her forte and she had managed the Majitha poll campaign of the AAP candidate Himmat Singh Shergill in the last Vidhan Sabha elections. A post graduate in English honors, she also earned a degree in law. She had campaigned for the party in February 2020 Delhi elections for a month.

Harbhajan Singh, who had taken voluntary retirement as an ETO, before unsuccessfully contesting the 2017 Assembly election, has been repeated from Jandiala assembly segment. Before cracking the PCS, he had been a lecturer in political science. He had secured around 34,000 votes in the last election from Jandiala constituency, which is held by Congress candidate Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala.

The party has given Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar mandate again from the Amritsar South segment. It will be his second attempt at the hustings. He had debuted in the last assembly election from the same seat and accumulated impressive 26.7 per cent of vote share. Inderbir Singh Bolaria of Congress had won the election.

Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, a known face in rural areas, will be contesting from Ajnala seat. He had unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha election from here. During his association with the party, he held various positions within the organisation. He had been in-charge of AAP’s Majha zone and remained vice president of its farmers’ wing.

There is no dearth of bureaucrats trying their luck to acquire executive power in the party. Jaswinder Singh, a retired ADC, has been given ticket from the Attari assembly segment.

Initially a Congress support, he had joined the AAP before the past assembly election after he was denied ticket. He will be replacing AAP’s Jaswinder Singh Jahangir from Attari. Congress leader Tarsem Singh DC is the incumbent MLA from the assembly segment.

Dalbir Singh Tong, who had secured maximum votes among all AAP candidates in Majha during the 2017 Assembly election, will try his luck from the Baba Bakala constituency. A grassroots worker, he had polled 39,300 votes in the last election. Jasbir Singh, a BAMS doctor with a private hospital will contest from the Amritsar West and Baldev Singh of Maidian Kala village, has been fielded from the Rajasansi assembly constituency. Both candidates have been associated with the party since its arrived in the political horizon of the state.