Dr Balbir Singh gives last-minute scare to Dharamvira Gandhi in contest

Mohit Khanna

Patiala, June 4

From being considered as a low-profile candidate for a high-stake battle, Cabinet Minister and AAP candidate for the Patiala Lok Sabha seat Dr Balbir Singh turned out to be a dark horse and gave a last-minute scare to Congress candidate Dharamvira Gandhi, who won the election by polling 3,05,616 votes. Dr Balbir Singh got 2,90,785 votes, over 2,000 more than four-time MP and BJP nominee Preneet Kaur.

Dr Balbir Singh, who did not make loud statements and refrained from interacting with media while limiting his presence on social media, visited over 300 villages during the time of campaigning.

His pitch was centred around free electricity, health services and other perks being offered by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led AAP government.

Dr Balbir Singh registered a lead in Patiala Rural (37,446 votes), Sanaur (43,048), Saman (36,141) and Shutrana (32,499).

Instead of extravagant rallies, Dr Balbir Singh was opting for grassroots-level engagement, conducting nukkad meetings in villages and visiting grain markets to directly interact with farmers.

He struck a chord in the rural segment by raising issues of farmers and calling toll as ‘goonda tax’. “Truck drivers have told me that when they ferry goods to Mumbai or Guwahati, they pay around Rs 15,000 as toll. They are not left with enough money to replace tyres and for the maintenance of the vehicle and its insurance. In Samana, for example, there used to be 1,500 trucks, but now the number has declined to mere 400,” said Dr Balbir.

After conceding defeat, Dr Balbir Singh said, “We bow to the mandate given by the people. We will learn from this and improve ourselves. Congratulations to Dr Dharamvira Gandhi on becoming the Patiala MP. The dictatorial forces in the country have been weakened significantly and this is a very positive development. Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann have made a significant contribution to the election campaign of the INDIA bloc. Heartfelt thanks to all the AAP volunteers.”