Three-way battle makes Batala anybody’s guess

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Batala, January 22

Batala is set to witness a keen three-cornered contest as state AAP convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich tries to match his wit with the electoral experience and expertise of old warhorses LS Lodhinangal of the SAD 

and MLA Ashwani Sekhri of the Congress.

Sekhri’s brother Inder Sekhri has joined Sucha Singh Chhotepur’s APP. He is sure to cut into his sibling’s vote bank. Observers claim that if he manages to poll even 5,000-odd votes, it may well be curtains for Ashwani, who is seeking a fourth term.

All three mainline candidates have made it a point to woo the industry. This is because the town is an industrial hub with 65 per cent of the voters directly or indirectly dependent on it. The seat has 80 villages and a majority of these are likely to vote for the SAD because over the last five years, Lodhinangal, who has been designated halqa incharge ever since he lost the 2012 elections to Ashwani Sekhri, has been distributing grants in rural areas.

The BJP may be the alliance partner of the SAD, but in Batala the party is at daggers drawn with Lodhinangal. This was much in evidence during the municipal committee (MC) elections when both parties contested on different symbols. The flashpoint came when Ashwani Sekhri used his casting vote to install senior BJP leader Naresh Mahajan as the MC president, a development which infuriated Lodhinangal. 

The walled city has a formidable BJP voter base because of the fact that the city is a trading town. The state BJP leadership has been asking its cadres to vote for Lodhinangal following which a splinter group led by Improvement Trust chairman Satish Bhatia has joined him in the campaign. However,  other BJP factional leaders are still undecided. Both Sekhri and Waraich are thus busy trying to woo them.

Waraich’s jan sabhas have been a hit among the youth, seen as an important component of the AAP vote share.

Jagdeesh Sahni, a three-time MLA, is keeping his cards close to his chest. Lodhinangal claims that he enjoys Sahni’s support, but then Waraich’s aides also say the same thing.