Agents of change in Punjab

Gupreet Singh Waraich (Ghuggi)

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For making politics less comical

Party: AAP

Constituency: Batala (Gurdaspur)

Claim to fame: Actor

Batala: In the mid-seventies, Gurnam Singh went door-to-door selling incense sticks to make ends meet. Decades later, his son, Ghuggi, too, is going door-to-door, asking people to vote him. Ghuggi developed a funny bone soon after his school. After graduation, Ghuggi produced a TV show Raunak Mela in 1992. The show became a hit. Then came Ghuggi Express, again a hit.  He has played a leading role in several Punjabi films. Several months ago, AAP caught his fancy — “a party which wanted change.” Why did he join politics? “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by inferiors. Punjab today is in the grip of a crisis. AAP can help the people,” he said. Ravi Dhaliwal

Pargat Singh

Sports first in his second run 

Party: Congress

Constituency: Jalandhar Cantt

Claim to fame: Hockey coach

Jalandhar: He is a hockey Olympian and a former Director Sports Punjab. In the fray for a second time, Pargat says: “It is because of my efforts that four youths from my Mithapur village are part of the Indian hockey team. They make us proud. Give me a chance again and I will ensure that more academies come up in villages.” The Akali-turned-Congress leader minces no words to hit out at the party he dumped. “I did not understand why the government distributed sports kits when there were no trainers.” Deepkamal Kochhar

Sajjan Singh Cheema

The cager finds the going easy 

Party: AAP

Constituency: Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala)

Claim to fame: Basketball 

Ludhiana: Good stamina of a basketball player a keen eye of a cop has come in handy for Cheema since he began campaigning. An Arjuna award recipient, Cheema says it is easy for him to connect with the people.  “Even when I was out of the game, I worked with some NGOs and NRIs to promote sports.”

The AAP candidate was recently in New Zealand and Australia and organised fund-raising dinners while also helping the party build contacts overseas. TNS

Gulzar Singh Moonak

SAD’s ‘kabaddi wala munda’ 

Party: SAD

Constituency: Dirba (Sangrur)

Claim to fame: Kabaddi

Sangrur: He finds something common between Kabaddi and politics: one has to remain in control as you sort out problems regardless of opposition. “I never imagined I could contest elections. But the party has given me a big honour. After a long time, a youngster has got a chance from our area,” says Gulzar. He won four Golds in kabaddi since 2010, and is known as ‘kabaddi wala munda’.  “The Akalis promoted kabaddi in a big way. I am grateful to the party for selecting someone who does not understand anything of politics,” he said. His campaign team includes kabaddi players and his theme is achievements of his party over the last decade. Parvesh Sharma

Satwinder Bitti

Singing is believing 

Party: Congress

Constituency: Sahnewal (Ludhiana)

Claim to fame: Singing

Sahnewal: As a child, Bitti had no idea about her career. Her father, Gurnaib Singh, a retired PWD officer, knew that her daughter had a sweet voice and that she should sing in religious congregations. She continues to sing. But years back, she also realized that she could be a good hockey player. She got admission in sports wing of MCM DAV Chandigarh, and rose as a national player. Simultaneously, Bitti took to stage and gradually rose to become a professional singer. Her religious albums Dhan Teri Sikhi, Roohan Rab Dian, Nishan Khalse De made her a professional singer. 

“Yesterday as I was campaigning for votes in Sahnewal constituency, an elderly man got up from the gathering to bless me with a siropa for my religious number Dhan Teri Sikhi that I sang 10 years back,” 

Bitti feels motivated by her father- in-law and state Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh. She says Congress, under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh, could alone save Punjab. Lovleen Bains

Kartar Singh ‘Pehalwan’

‘It’s time to cleanse politics’ 

Party: AAP

Constituency: Tarn Taran

Claim to fame: Wrestling

Tarn Taran: In wrestling, he learnt a few lessons: consistency, mental toughness and grace. Kartar Singh ‘Pehalwan’ hopes to win the election on those very lessons. An Arjuna and Padma Shri award recipient, he has been a sports director and inspector general of police. He has represented India in three Olympics besides winning Gold in 1978 Asian Games at Bangkok and the 1986 Asian Games at Seoul. Kartar says he was impressed with the simplicity of Arvind Kejriwal when he met him in Delhi. Kartar prefers to sit in the audience as his supporters make vigorous speeches. Manmeet Singh Gill

Rampal Singh

Mission: Cleaning politics in sports

Party: Apna Punjab Party

Constituency: Payal (Ludhiana)

Claim to fame: Rowing

Chandigarh: He has several stories about how he was treated unfairly by sports administrators. A retired Army soldier, he says: “Politics in sports is also equally filthy.” He started rowing in 1992 two years after joining the Army. When he won Bronze in Bangkok Asian Games in 1998, nobody in his village Bija had even heard about the sport.

“I was doing well in Pune,” he recalls. In 2013, when the state government honoured him , he says, he told the CM as well as others who mattered as to how Punjabis could excel in rowing. “The CM offered me a DSP job and asked me to serve the state. I returned to Punjab,” he says. But there was no job. “I realized I was duped.” When Sucha Singh Chhotepur parted ways with AAP, he went along with him. Vishav Bharti