Home to 3 MLAs, Guruharsahai hopes for fast-track development

Anirudh Gupta

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Ferozepur, November 18

Away from the industrial smog and hubbub, Guruharsahai, a subdivision of this border district, wears a sleepy look, but its political vibrancy can take anyone by surprise. It has earned the distinction of being home to three MLAs of the ruling party.

This has soared the hopes of local residents, who feel that with three of their “own men” being part of the 15th “Vidhan Sabha”, their town will witness unprecedented development and will not lag behind in terms of fund allocation now.

The list includes Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, who is representing Guruharsahai in the state Assembly for the record fourth consecutive time. Sodhi has also been given Cabinet berth and is considered an aide of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. In addition to him, Satkar Kaur, MLA from Ferozepur (Rural) and her husband Gurmail Singh alias Laddi Gehri, who is also a senior Congress leader, belong to this town. The newly elected MLA from Jalalabad who emerged victorious during the recent bypoll, Raminder Awla, also belongs to a Guruharsahai-based industrial family. He has joined the list of political stalwarts hailing from this place, taking the tally of MLAs belonging to Guruharsahai to three.

Vicky Narula, a local rice mill owner said, “With three MLAs, including a Cabinet minister, our area should witness an upsurge of development projects.” Guruharsahai residents are hoping that with the political clout of Rana Sodhi, more development projects including an employment generating industry will be set up here.

Notably, Sodhi won the election from Guruharshai constituency in 2002 and hasn’t looked back ever since, thus winning 2007, 2012 and 2017 Punjab Assembly seat from here.

Harbhajan Singh, a young businessman, said, “I don’t think that Guruharsahai will ever be luckier than the present scenario again when three representatives of the state legislature are residing here. So our leaders should make the most of it to bring in the much-needed development here.”

Notably, debutant Raminder Awla, who hails from Guruharsahai, hit the headlines when he filed his nomination from the Jalalabad constituency for declaring assets more than even that of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. He shot to fame when he trounced his rival candidate Dr Raj Singh Dibipura of SAD by a comfortable margin of over 16,000 votes and brought back the Congress to power in Jalalabad which was considered to be an Akali citadel.