CM diktat puts Cong MLAs under pressure

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, May 18

All the seven sitting Congress MLAs of the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency are under intense pressure to maintain the leads they secured for sitting MP and Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar in the 2017 bypoll because of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s directive to “perform or face the music’ weighs heavily on them.

These legislators are Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa (Dera Baba Nanak), Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa (Fatehgarh Churian), Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa (Qadian), Barindermeet Singh Pahra (Gurdaspur), Aruna Chaudhury (Dinanagar), Joginder Pal (Bhoa) and Amit Vij (Pathankot).

Dera Baba Nanak is turning out to be the most eagerly watched seats. In the bypoll, Randhawa, who is also a Cabinet minister, notched up a lead of 44,000 votes. The MLA, this time, taking advantage of the under-construction Kartarpur corridor, is banking on the 3.5 lakh strong Jat Sikh vote bank. Even a BJP core team, currently touring the constituency, admits that the going will be tough for the BJP’s Sunny Deol here.

The Fatehgarh Churian seat is also under the lens. Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa is busy smothering ruffled feathers of dissidents. “Groups and sub-groups inimical to the MLA have surfaced in a big way after the panchayat elections. Bajwa is busy trying to buy peace. Last time he managed a 20,000 plus lead for Jakhar. It is debatable whether he manages to keep this intact keeping in view the challenge mounted by Deol,” averred a MLA.