Rebels likely to queer pitch for party candidates in MC poll

The last-minute release of lists by parties and changes of candidates made on the last day of filing of nomination papers by the candidates have led to heartbreak.

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Several leaders, who had been expecting ticket, have not yet recovered from the shock and were seen meeting people even today to discuss their future course of action. Some of them even filed their nomination papers as Independent at the last moment. There are rebels in almost all parties, though fewer in numbers than the previous years.

Ex-Congress councillor Tarsem Lakhotra, who had quit the party to join the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Jalandhar West bypoll for better prospects, too, is learnt to be upset. He was given ticket by AAP in the first list from Ward no. 46 but his name was deleted in the subsequent list that came five hours later. The ticket was given to Rajesh Bhagat instead.

Lakhotra turned rebel and chose to file his papers as Independent. "I have left AAP. I have not joined any party so far. I will decide my future course of action after December 21 result", he said. Like him, Shibu Lahoria, too, had filed his papers as an Independent from Ward no. 48. Deepak Sandhu, who too was given ticket from Ward no. 60 by AAP but denied later, has been posting videos against the AAP local leadership, blaming them for selling tickets. His name had been replaced by Gurjeet Ghuman from Basti Bawa Khel.

The Congress too has a rebel from Ward no. 60 from where Manpreet Mangu filed his papers as Independent. Mangu is the son of former District Congress Committee chief and ex-councillor Baldev S Dev. After the denial of ticket, the father-son duo posted a video on Facebook, saying that they were assured that Mangu was being given ticket and they were made to wait in Congress Bhawan for two hours but eventually the party ditched them to favour Lakhbir Bajwa, an aide of LoP Partap Bajwa.

Dev said, "During the Jalandhar West bypoll, when all Congress councillors went to AAP, we stood with the party like a rock. At that time, MP Charanjit S Channi and DCC chief Rajinder Beri promised my son councillor ticket from the ward. But we never knew that we would be ditched like this at the last moment".

The other rebel in the Congress is Bishamber from Ward no. 40. The BJP, too, has a rebel from Ward no. 83 Ayesha Praveen, wife of BJP Minority Cell chief Naushad Alam, who has filed her papers as an Independent.

Youth leader Angad Dutta had been reportedly promised ticket from Ward no. 18 and he kept preparing for it but it eventually was given to  Surjeet. Dutta, however, had told the party that he had no objection to any such move.

Bhagats appeased

Post the victory of Mahinder Bhagat as AAP MLA from Jalandhar West, the party seems to have chosen a strategy to appease the Bhagat community. There are at least three candidates from the community in the AAP list - Sameeta Bhagat from Ward no. 17, Rupa Bhagat from Ward no. 45 and Rajneesh Bhagat from Ward no. 46.