Amid buzz, Punjab CM's principal secy Hussan Lal says won't contest from Banga

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, January 13

Brought in by way of a grand appearance by none other than the first Dalit Chief Minister of the state Charanjit Singh Channi, his principal secretary Hussan Lal has reportedly decided against contesting from Banga, a reserved constituency, in the upcoming elections.

As per reports, Hussan Lal and his two brothers have not been visiting Banga for the past few days and have also vacated their house on the Mukandpur road.

Was introduced at November rally

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• At a rally in Banga on Nov 23, the CM had almost introduced the 59-year-old IAS officer, Hussan Lal, as the candidate
• He sat next to the CM on the stage and delivered a speech introducing himself and listing out demands of local residents
• For the past two months, he has been doling out grants in villages and got 3,000 more enrolled as Atta-Dal scheme beneficiaries

This has come as a major shocker for constituency workers, especially since they saw a huge turmoil post the entry of the 59-year-old IAS officer into the fray. Almost all contenders from the party had stopped working and were either sitting at home or switched to other parties. Two-time MLA Mohan Lal Banga switched to the BJP. Constituency incharge Satvir Palli Jhikki joined the Punjab Lok Congress. Former MLA Tarlochan Soondh and other two ticket seekers Rajinder Thekedar and Dr Harpreet Kainth, too, had stopped all party activities.

Hussan Lal, who is expected to retire in six months, confirmed to The Tribune he had no plans to contest from Banga but did not cite any reason. All party leaders who were helping Hussan Lal, including Zila Parishad member Kamaljit Banga, party incharge Gurdev Namdhari, Jhujar Rahipa and Rajinder S Kultham, said they too had been hearing that their candidate had withdrawn but had no idea as to what went wrong.