Spotlight back on Majitha constituency

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 2

Well ahead of the announcement of the Assembly election, the focus has shifted to high-profile Majitha Assembly constituency being represented by Bikram Singh Majithia, second senior most leader of the SAD after the Badals.

Firstly, on December 21, former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia was booked under various sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Lately, his arch rival Congress leader Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli Majithia, who had lost last three Assembly elections consecutively to senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, joined the Aam Aadmi Party to give him a tough fight.

Earlier, Lalli resigned as chairman-cum-director, Punjab State Grains Procurement Corporation Limited (Pungrain). The AAP had fielded Himmet Singh Shergill in the 2017 election, who had negligible impact on voters. Now, Lalli being a native of the town could pose a formidable challenge.

In Majitha, the SAD proved its dominance by grabbing 10 wards out of 13 in the municipal councils and nagar panchayats held in the district in February last year indicating Bikram Majithia’s influence in his constituency. The forthcoming election would be a test of his grip on the natives of Majitha.

A keen contest between Akali Dal, Congress, AAP and possibility of Capt Amarinder Singh, SAD (Sanyukt) and BJP combine fielding a candidate, will offer a plenty of choice to voters.

Bhagwant Pal Singh Sachar, president of District Congress Committee (Rural) and a claimant for Congress ticket from Majitha constituency, has launched a scathing attack against Lalli Majithia to woo Congress minded voters and party workers in the constituency to his side.

Majithia’s pic on social media adds to confusion

Amritsar: Confusion prevailed over the visit of former Punjab Minister Bikram Singh Majithia to the Golden Temple for paying obeisance to mark the New Year celebration after his pictures were uploaded on the social media handle of Youth Akali Dal. The pictures immediately went viral on social media, which also hit headlines on websites and online media. Majithia has been evading arrest and went underground after he was booked by the Punjab Police under the NDPS Act. Nevertheless, Nachhatar Singh, IT cell in-charge of Youth Akali Dal maintained that these were fresh pictures of Majithia. He paid obeisance at Baba Gurbax Singh Gurdwara to mark the beginning of New Year. A top police official said the pictures were fake or old. He said on minutely monitoring the pictures that surfaced on social media, it was discovered that the carpet shown in the pictures does not match the one that was present now. The decoration on the palanquin set up near Dukh Bhanjani Beri also differed. “This implies that the picture could not be fresh ones but old,” he said. Meanwhile, the missing posters of Majithia titled Gumshuda Di Bhal (right) were spotted on the walls of the circuit house. — PK Jaiswar

AAP joint secy & former ADC Rakesh Kumar joins SAD

Amritsar: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) received a boost in the holy city, particularly in the North constituency, with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) joint secretary and former additional deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar joining the party in the presence of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday. Welcoming Kumar into the SAD at his residence, Sukhbir said the former ADC was known for various social welfare initiatives and had also carved out a name for himself as a poet. While stating that the party would utilise his services appropriately, Sukhbir appointed Kumar as vice-president of the SAD on the occasion. Kumar said he would serve the SAD sincerely and also assured to work wholeheartedly for the victory of former minister Anil Joshi, SAD candidate from the North constituency. Joshi, who was also present on the occasion, appreciated the services rendered by Kumar towards the welfare of the weaker sections during his long innings in government service and even afterwards.