Nawanshahr: Satvir Singh Palli Jhikki's 15-yr wait for Congress ticket ends, finally

Deepkamal Kaur

Nawanshahr, January 30

As the Congress chose to replace sitting MLA Angad Singh Saini with Satvir Singh Palli Jhikki from Nawanshahr, the latter’s 15-year-old wait for the ticket finally got over.

Jhikki, who was former CM Capt Amarinder Singh’s staunch loyalist, had first sought ticket in 2007 and later again in 2012 and 2017 but the party always favoured either Angad (in 2017) or his mother Guriqbal Kaur in 2012 or his father Parkash Singh (2007).

The 59-year-old had started his career as the sarpanch of Palli Jhikki village of Nawanshahr in 1993. His father was a staunch Congressman and was killed in 1988 during the days of terrorism. His house, too, was set on fire then. Jhikki was 24 at that time.

In 1998, he became the District Youth President. In bypoll of 2000, an FIR was registered against him and now Khadoor Sahib MP Jasbir Dimpa over an incident of firing. They remained in hiding for long and got the support of then PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh and he remained his loyalist till recently. Jhikki was announced as the district chief of Capt’s Punjab Lok Congress and even its Nawanshahr candidate, but he quit it to grab the Congress ticket that he had been vying for years.

Yesterday, he took to his FB page to announce that he had never left Congress and that he had sought ticket from the party to contest elections. This evening, the party announced him the candidate.

Jhikki was also the PPCC secretary under the presidentship of SS Dullo. He was also the District Planning Committee chief.