After losing Amanpreet Uppal to BJP, Congress gain independent candidate Ravinder Gupta
Amanpreet had accused MLA Nirmal Singh of pressurising him to support Ravinder Gupta
After the Congress candidate from ward-5 Amanpreet Uppal withdrew his nomination and joined the BJP, the independent candidate and BJP rebel, Ravinder Gupta, on Thursday, joined the Congress.
After being denied BJP’s ticket, Ravinder Gupta had filed nomination as an independent candidate.
“I had sought a BJP ticket from ward-5, but the party had denied, so I decided to contest as an independent candidate. However, the Congress candidate withdrew his nomination to join BJP and the Congress was left with no candidate in my ward. Today I have joined the Congress party and now I am contesting the election as a Congress-supported candidate,” said Ravinder Gupta.
Amanpreet had withdrawn his nomination and joined the BJP, leaving only BJP candidate Rajesh Mehta and independent candidate Ravinder Gupta in the fray.
Meanwhile, the Congress, on Thursday, held a public meeting in support of all party candidates. Addressing the gathering, Ambala City MLA Nirmal Singh said “The BJP has come to power by making false promises. Corruption is rampant in the municipal corporation. The former BJP MLA did nothing during his tenure and didn’t even allow the previous mayors to work freely. We are confident that the people of Ambala will elect the Congress party’s mayor and ward members and we will resolve the issues of Ambala City.”
He called upon the party workers to work hard and stay in their respective wards to strengthen the party’s candidate. Criticising the BJP government, Ambala MP Varun Chaudhry, said “The Congress party has fielded strong candidates and they will raise the voice of public effectively. The previous mayor was from the BJP, but even her voice was suppressed. The residents of Ambala have been facing inconvenience over different issues related to sanitation, cleaning of drains, street lights, NDC and Property IDs but the government has turned a blind eye to the problems of people.”
“The BJP’s anti-Dalit and anti-women face has also been exposed. It has failed to maintain the law-and-order situation. The BJP government talks about ‘Viksit Bharat’, the PM had promised to make India a developed nation and we also want to see India as a developed country, but the government has done nothing in this regard. The government has prepared no roadmap to achieve the target and it has just been playing with the emotions of the people of this country. The people of Ambala will teach a lesson to the BJP in the MC elections,” he added.
While joining the BJP, Amanpreet had accused MLA Nirmal Singh of pressurising him to support Ravinder Gupta.
Reacting to the allegations, Nirmal Singh, said “I had recommended Amanpreet’s name for the ticket. He is just following the instructions being given to him and this is not his language.”
Meanwhile, Ambala District Congress Committee president Pawan Aggarwal, said “The party has supported an independent candidate from ward-5 and he has joined the party. The senior leaders from the party will soon start campaigning for the candidates in Ambala.”
