MLA, halqa incharge at war in Dinanagar

Ravi Dhaliwal

Dinanagar hit the headlines in July 2015 when terrorists stormed a local police station. The infiltrators were killed in a fierce gunbattle. On the political turf, an equally fierce battle has been fought by sitting Congress MLA Aruna Chaudhury and BJP’s halqa incharge Bishan Dass Dhuppar. She had beaten him from this reserved seat in the 2012 elections, but the faceoff didn’t end there.

Dhuppar has been busy distributing Border Area Development Programme funds and other grants and inaugurating government projects. Aruna, who is seeking a third term, and her husband, Ashok Chaudhury, have been promptly complaining to the authorities concerned about this “unconstitutional practice.”

A top BJP leader claims that reports of Dhuppar’s activities have reached the party high command. “He may be replaced by an SC morcha leader,” he says.

The BJP probable is Kamaljit Chawla, sarpanch of Meghian village. AAP has fielded a turncoat, Joginder Chhina, who was once a Partap Bajwa loyalist before he joined the camp of SAD leader Sewa Singh Sekhwan. Later, he jumped on the AAP bandwagon. 

The constituency, located close to the border, has seen little development. “A few Sewa Kendras have been opened, but that’s not good enough. We need industry to provide employment to our children,” says Chawla.

Residents want an ITI (Industrial Training Institute) so that the youth can get a chance to be self-employed.