Constituency Watch - Patiala: Promises on anti-flood measures, illegal mining remain unfulfilled

Aman Sood

PATIALA, MAY 8

Considered to be a Congress pocket borough, Patiala had sent Congress candidates to the Vidhan Sabha and Parliament for most of the times. However, political equations have changed and with turncoats having a field day, all four major political parties are on a sticky wicket.

In the past two tenures, Patiala had sent candidates with different parties to Parliament and both are now again in contest, but their loyalties have changed.

Total votes

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18,29,633

Male: 9,58,379

Female: 8,71,176

Transgender: 78

A four-way contest is on the cards for the first time in Patiala, which usually saw the Congress taking on the SAD-BJP alliance and since 2014, it had become a triangular contest with the entry of Aam Aadmi Party. The Patiala seat can be a litmus test for almost all political parties.

However, what has not changed are the issues concerning Patiala residents, including the poor rail connectivity, lack of civic amenities, Ghaggar floods, rampant corruption in the Municipal Corporation, drugs menace in villages and road infrastructure. The shifting of the bus stand from the city to the outskirts is another issue against the present regime as traders in two constituencies have suffered losses.

The 2023 floods that caused damage to paddy crops and the urban middle class is an example how the political parties did little to tackle the menace of floods.

It is an open secret that Patiala is a hub of illegal mining and despite different governments blowing their own trumpet, the mining mafia continues to thrive. Backed by political lobbies Rajpura, Sanaur, Ghanaur and Shutrana continue to be in the grip of illegal mining.

Besides, hundreds of people have lost their lives on the single lane Patiala-Sirhind road, which is accident-prone.

The constituency has one of the oldest and well-equipped health facility, Government Rajindra Hospital, but it is mostly in news for the wrong reasons, including shortage of medicines, manpower and specialists.

Patiala district has primarily been a Congress bastion. Earlier, the main electoral battle used to be between the Congress and SAD with Capt Amarinder Singh and his family being the Congress strength. However, since 2014, things have changed with the emergence of AAP.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, Dr Dharamvira Gandhi upset the Congress applecart by defeating Preneet Kaur, then Union Minister of State for External Affairs. However, in 2019, Preneet defeated Dr Gandhi, who contested as an Independent after deserting AAP. Interestingly, Preneet Kaur is now a BJP candidate and trying her luck to be an MP for the fifth time. She had earlier won in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2019.

Almost neglected for over a decade during the SAD-BJP tenure of 2007-17, the Congress promised the moon to the local electorate during the 2017 Vidhan Sabha poll. In return, despite a strong AAP wave in the Malwa belt, the Congress won seven out of the nine Assembly seats here while SAD won two. However, in 2022 elections, AAP made a strong inroads into the Congress fortress winning all nine seats.

The constituency is spread over two revenue and two police districts of Patiala and Mohali. With around 50 per cent Jat community and OBC votes, caste equations can play a crucial role.

In the 2019 poll, Preneet Kaur, who won the election by more than 1.5 lakh votes, failed to make a dent in SAD’s bastion of Dera Bassi where she trailed behind SAD’s Rakhra by over 17,000 votes. She bagged 70,883 votes from the Dera Bassi Assembly segment while Rakhra got 87,993 votes.

While SAD faces challenge as they have fielded NK Sharma, who hails from Zirakpur and is dependent on local leaders, the BJP candidate Preneet Kaur continues to face backlash from agitating farmers, who are opposing her visit to villages. The Congress is no different with many leaders openly revolting against Dr Gandhi’s candidature urging high command to have considered old party leaders. AAP also faces anti-incumbency besides some farmer outfits oppose AAP due to delay in compensation for recent crop loss.

Preneet Kaur (BJP)

Four-time MP is well-versed with politics and is one of the most humble leaders, who is known to keep a direct contact with her workers. During the past two Congress regimes in Punjab, Preneet Kaur was the bridge between the Capt Amarinder Singh government and Patiala and it was under her control that Patiala got maximum funds for various development schemes. Preneet has been raising issues concerning Patiala with the central leadership and knocking doors of the ministers.

Dharamvira Gandhi (Cong)

In 2014, he defeated Preneet Kaur and made his debut in the Lok Sabha. During his tenure, he was instrumental in raising several issues pertaining to Patiala. He refused to distribute grants based on caste and religion and ensured that the villages, which needed the most would get the grants on the basis of necessity. He raised the issue of Patiala’s connectivity with Delhi and a train to connect Patiala to Chandigarh and Bathinda. He is quite popular among the government employees.

Dr Balbir Singh (AAP)

The Cabinet Minister who made his debut in the Vidhan Sabha riding high on the AAP wave that swept Punjab in 2022, he has ensured to work hard to improve the health facilities. An eye surgeon and Health Minister, he was once an aide of Dr Gandhi during the latter’s campaign in 2014. However, when Dr Gandhi parted ways with AAP, Dr Balbir stayed with the party. Dr Balbir had lost the first Assembly election in 2017 to former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

NK Sharma (SAD)

Elected to the Vidhan Sabha from Dera Bassi for the first time in 2012 and re-elected again in 2017, NK Sharma has remained Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the SAD-BJP government. A realty king of Zirakpur, Sharma is the owner of a real estate empire and is known for his calm demeanour and direct contact with the party workers. As he tests political waters in Patiala, SAD is banking on his down-to-earth image and also the Hindu face to swing votes in its favour.