Pitched battle in store for candidates at ward 44

LUDHIANA: Even though most of the 95 wards in the city would witness a multi-cornered contest in the upcoming elections to the Municipal Corporation to be held on February 24, a pitched battle for the candidates of all three major parties — the SAD-B, Congress and Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) — is in store due to the rebellion factor which all three candidates are facing.

Election fever: To inspire youngsters to come out and vote, a member of ‘I Vote I Lead’ campaign paints a graffiti on a wall in Civil Lines area in Ludhiana. Tribune Photo: Himanshu Mahajan

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, February 18

Even though most of the 95 wards in the city would witness a multi-cornered contest in the upcoming elections to the Municipal Corporation to be held on February 24, a pitched battle for the candidates of all three major parties — the SAD-B, Congress and Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) — is in store due to the rebellion factor which all three candidates are facing. Not only this, a large section of some 10,000-odd voters also feel that all three major parties had ignored local contenders and thrust “outsiders” as party candidates upon them.

In all, 10 candidates are in the fray from this ward, but the rebel candidates from SAD-B, Congress and LIP are expected to give the official party candidates a run for their money.

The SAD-B has fielded Meetpal Singh Dugri, said to be a close lieutenant of former Punjab Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia. Meetpal was nominated head of the Malwa zone of Students’ Organisation of India during the previous SAD-BJP regime and has been active in the Akali politics for the last few years. However, in the independent candidate with solid Akali Dal background, Harpal Singh Kohli, contesting as an Independent, the official nominee would find a formidable opponent.

Though expelled from the party, Kohli, claiming himself as a ‘taksali’ Akali for the last over four decades, charged the SAD-B leadership with adopting a corporate culture and ignoring old and loyal workers of the party.

Similarly, Congress candidate Harkarandep Singh Vaid, who is the son of Congress legislator from Gill segment and a bureaucrat-turned politician Kuldip Singh Vaid, is not only termed as a politically green horn by voters, but also an outsider. The rebel Congressman and Independent candidate Jasbir Singh Jassal would leave no opportunity to exploit the ‘outsider’ factor to rally around sizeable sections of pro-Congress voters in the civic elections.

LIP nominee Jai Kishan Mittal, a new entrant to the outfit headed by Simarjeet Singh Bain and Balwinder Singh Bains, owes the party ticket to his father and former SAD-B legislator from Mansa Prem Mittal, who joined LIP a few days after the MC elections were announced. Also facing the ‘outsider’ tag, Mittal would face a tough challenge from Puneet Malhotra, an Independent and a strong contender for LIP/AAP ticket from the area.