Cong intensifies campaign in Sahnewal, slams AAP govt over unfulfilled promises

Congress candidates for the upcoming zila parishad elections — Taj Parminder Singh Sonu (Mangat zone), Rupinder Kaur Majara (Chak Sarwan Nath zone) and Charanjit Kaur Grewal (Mattewara zone) —have intensified their campaigning in Sahnewal constituency. The Congress candidates stated that the Aam Aadmi Party’s unfulfilled promises were likely to undermine its prospects in the upcoming zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections.

“Local residents have expressed anger over the ruling party’s failure to fulfil its promise of providing Rs 1,000 to women,” said Taj Parminder.

He highlighted that the land pooling policy introduced by the government had adversely affected more than two dozen villages in Sahnewal. He said residents of these villages had to struggle extensively before the policy was eventually withdrawn, leaving farmers resentful of the administration.

Residents also voiced frustration over broken roads across the constituency, accusing the government of laying foundation stones on damaged stretches as a symbolic gesture rather than carrying out genuine development.

“The roads in our area are broken. No road repair or construction work has been undertaken since the formation of the new government. We want representatives who listen to our grievances and not those who just come to meet us before the elections,” said Gurdev Singh from Mattewara.

Another resident of Sahnewal said they were promised relief from narcotics by the AAP government. However, locals alleged that drug abuse had only increased in the past four years. Illegal mining, they claimed, led to erosion along the Sutlej river due to which farmland in Bootgarh village was washed away, resulting in heavy losses to farmers.

Rupinder Kaur Majara, candidate from Chak Sarwan Nath zone, further said candidates from other political parties were not allowed to file their nomination papers because the ruling party was aware of the results. She said they were very much aware of the fact that people were not going to choose them. “During their regime, they should have focussed on carrying out development works instead of adopting such tactics now,” she said.

Congress leader Vikram Bajwa reminded that in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Sahnewal voters had defeated the AAP by a margin of over 25,000 votes, reflecting their anger. He asserted that people will not support AAP candidates in the upcoming zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls.