Party ahead in Muktsar Assembly segments

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, May 23

The SAD took a lead in all four Assembly constituencies falling in Muktsar, which is the home district of the Badals.

It comprises Muktsar and Malout in the Ferozepur parliamentary constituency; Gidderbaha in Faridkot; and Lambi in Bathinda.

At present, the SAD has two MLAs in Muktsar and Lambi Assembly constituencies, while Gidderbaha and Malout Assembly segments are represented by the Congress.

In the Lambi Assembly segment, Harsimrat Kaur Badal polled 61,579 votes against 45,454 votes fetched by Congress nominee Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. She got a lead of 16,125 votes from the segment, paving the way for her hat-trick from Bathinda.

Notably, in the last 2014 Lok Sabha election, she had got a lead of 34,219 votes from here.

“This time, we are not in power thus the margin has remained half of the last time. It is a matter of concern for all of us and we will soon make a strategy to cover it,” said a SAD leader, pleading anonymity. Notably, Lambi is the home turf of former CM Parkash Singh Badal.

In the Gidderbaha Assembly segment from where Amrinder Singh Raja Warring is two-time MLA, SAD’s Faridkot candidate Gulzar Singh Ranike got 47,731 votes against 44,945 votes fetched by Mohammad Sadique.

“After getting a lead, SAD leaders are terming it their win in Gidderbaha. They have even started making claims that the lead of 2,786 votes is an indication that they will win the Assembly election from here in 2022. However, they should not forget that the local MLA was the Congress candidate from the Bathinda parliamentary constituency. Therefore, he could not give time to his constituency to campaign in favour of Sadique,” said a Youth Congress leader from Gidderbaha.

Meanwhile, in the Muktsar Assembly segment, SAD chief and party candidate from the Ferozepur parliamentary constituency Sukhbir Singh Badal got 57,672 votes against 49,395 votes fetched by Congress nominee Sher Singh Ghubaya. Sukhbir took a lead of 8,277 votes from here.

Notably, SAD’s Muktsar district president Kanwarjit Singh Rozy Barkandi represents the constituency in the Vidhan Sabha. He had defeated Karan Kaur Brar, daughter-in-law of former CM Harcharan Singh Brar, from here in the 2017 Assembly elections.

In the Malout Assembly segment, Sukhbir got 59,661 votes while Congress candidate polled 42,993 votes. Notably, the SAD had shifted its former MLA Harpreet Singh to Bhucho in 2017 Assembly elections and after losing the polls, he was brought back to Malout. “It is the hard work of Harpreet and his team that Sukhbir got a lead of 16,668 votes in Malout. The SAD chief had come just twice for his election campaign here,” said some local residents.