Officer vs officer in Fatehgarh Sahib

Rajmeet Singh 

Tribune News Service 

Fatehgarh Sahib, May 6

Congress nominee Dr Amar Singh and the Shiromani Akali Dal’s Darbara Singh Guru, both former bureaucrats, are hardselling” their administrative experience to woo the voters of Fatehgarh Sahib, a reserved seat. 

Dr Amar Singh is counting on his role in extending central schemes to Punjab and allocation of additional storage space for grain during his tenure as CMD, FCI. Guru is hoping that the rapport he enjoyed with officers and people during his stint as Principal Secretary to Parkash Singh Badal will pay him dividends.

At a gathering at Sanghol  village, also known as Uchha Pind Sanghol, Dr Singh tells a crowd: “A politician takes quite a while to acquire administrative skills. I have had enough administrative experience in the Union Government. Can the SAD 

candidate tell you what has been his contribution to Punjab?”

He then speaks about PM Modi’s  unmet promise of  Rs 15 lakh in the  bank accounts of the poor and the misery brought on the people by the note ban. “He (PM) promised two crore jobs and is now concealing data on unemployment. But the Congress has kept its promises to the people”.   

Addressing a rally at the Bassi Pathana grain market, Guru dubs 

Dr Amar Singh an outsider. “He served outside the state for 30 years. We need to vote for national security and a strong PM. TheAmarinder Singh government has failed on all fronts”, he alleges. 

The two former bureaucrats have unsuccessfully contested Assembly elections in the past. Dr Amar Singh lost from Raikot (Ludhiana) and Guru lost from Bhadaur (Barnala) and Bassi Pathana (Fatehgarh Sahib). Both claim it is a direct Congress-SAD contest this time. But there are reports of Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) candidate Manvinder Singh Giaspura gradually catching up with them. This could mean a dent in the SAD vote bank. 

Poll observers point out that in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections Congress nominee Sadhu Singh Dharamsot had trailed in the Amargarh and Sahnewal Assembly segments. This helped the then AAP candidate, Harinder Singh Khalsa, a former IFS officer, register a win.

The Fatehgarh Sahib constituency is spread over nine Assembly segments — Fatehgarh Sahib, Bassi Pathana, Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib district, Khanna, Sahnewal, Samrala, Payal and Raikot in Ludhiana district and Amargarh in Sangrur. 

There are 14,74,947 voters, 80 per cent belonging to the Ramdasia community and the remaining Balmikis. The voters are unwilling to speak out. But they surely understand the issues raised by contestants.      

(Inputs by Surinder Bharadwaj)