Making political debut, Sandhu family puts up a spirited fight

Shashi Pal Jain

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Kharar, January 28

Making  their political debut from Kharar, the entire family of AAP candidate Kanwar Sandhu is not only putting a united face but also a spirited fight for the Assembly poll. 

While veteran journalist Kanwar Sandhu is busy making rounds of the Kharar constituency, his wife Bittu Safeena Sandhu is managing the Majri sub-office of the party. She is a well known poet and writer, who has been doing a lot of social work in the area. Using her poetic skills to the full, she leads a highly motivated team of volunteers to door-to-door campaigning besides addressing “nukkar” meetings. 

“Since I know how committed my husband is to his work and the people of the area, I have no qualms in committing myself to the people of the area,” she said.  

She leaves home in Kansal early in the morning  and often seen at the Majri Block office at 8 am. It is not unusual to see her in villages of the area even at 11 pm.  She is accompanied by her daughter-in-law Dr Navpreet Kaur, a dentist by profession, who flew in from Canada to be a part of the campaign. “I am appalled at the abject neglect of the constituency despite is proximity to Chandigarh. My heart bleeds to see all this,” she says.

The Sandhu family and its band of committed party volunteers have fanned out into different areas. Kanwar Sandhu’s elder son, Karan, manages the Naya Gaon office, which has a tricky voter base. “The area has people from 24 different parts of the country and it is a challenge to appeal to each segment,” he says. Karan, who is a doctor by profession and has worked in the region, moved to Canada five years ago but says his heart is still in the area. “See how the authorities have destroyed such a pretty and picturesque area,” he adds. Karan says he is humbled by the response of people and party volunteers. “Our campaign is going positive and we tell the people on what we will achieve for them,” he adds.

The “man behind the scene” is Kanwar Sandhu’s younger son Tanveer Sandhu,  Since he was among those directly affected  by the powers that be, he is a man on a mission. A journalist by profession, he leads the campaign by sheer drive and is seen monitoring every thing from the social media to one-to-one meetings with members of other parties wanting to join AAP or extend support. “Knowing my Dad, just as he left an indelible mark in newspapers like the Indian Express and Hindustan Times that he headed in the region, he will turn around the entire Kharar area from utter backwardness to progress. His guts and understanding of local issues is exemplary and vision truly global. You will see a change in no time.”