Congress survey: Close contest in Malwa, strong in Majha region

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, May 29

As senior Congress leaders are criss-crossing the state for the last-minute big push, an internal survey, carried out by the party, has indicated that party candidates are performing well in Jalandhar, Gurdaspur and Amritsar. Former CM Charanjit Channi, former Deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa and outgoing MP GS Aujla are contesting from Jalandhar, Gurdaspur and Amritsar, respectively.

Modi factor

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In Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur, Cong’s facing a close contest as the visits of PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other BJP leaders, besides back-to-back campaigning by AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann, have given a boost to rivals’ campaign.

In Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur, it’s a close contest for its candidates as visits of PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior BJP leaders, besides back-to-back campaigning by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann, have given a boost to rivals’ campaign.

Stakes for the Congress are high in Ludhiana where PCC chief Raja Warring is contesting against Congress man-turned BJP candidate Ravneet Bittu and in Patiala, where Dr Dharamvira Gandhi has been pitched from the citadel of Capt Amarinder Singh, whose wife Preneet Kaur is seeking re-election on the BJP ticket.

The rallies by Rahul Gandhi in Gurdaspur, Dhaka (Ludhiana) and Patiala have been planned keeping in mind the segments that require a push by the senior leadership. Tomorrow, Rahul will go to Nawanashahr to boost the prospects of Anandpur Sahib candidate Vijay Inder Singla, who is facing a challenge from AAP candidate Malwinder Singh Kang. Also, the PM will hold a rally in Hoshiarpur to push the prospects of party candidate Anita Som Parkash.

In Sangrur, where the Congress has fielded Sukhpal Khaira to challenge the CM on his home turf, the AAP leadership and other ministers have been making strenuous efforts for party candidate Meet Hayer. Similarly in Patiala, senior party leader Harish Chaudhary is camping as certain Congress leaders, who were against the candidature of Dr Gandhi, are reportedly supporting SAD candidate NK Sharma.