Not in fray for party ticket from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat: Sunil Jakhar

Chandigarh, August 19

State BJP president and former Gurdaspur MP Sunil Jakhar said he is not in the fray for party ticket from the constituency.

The veteran leader was elected from Gurdaspur on a Congress ticket in the 2017 byelection but lost to current MP Sunny Deol in 2019.

However, he did not show much interest in Gurdaspur after the 2019 debacle. Talking to The Tribune, he said he had visited the constituency multiple times, including recently during Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally and with Rahul Gandhi when he was still in the Congress.

Jakhar said Gurdaspur was one of the traditional seats of the BJP and he would campaign there for its candidate.

He said while his entire political career was shaped in Ferozepur, the situation in 2017 had demanded him to contest from Gurdaspur.

“I am now responsible for my party’s work in the entire state. Gurdaspur is our bastion and we will run a united campaign for our candidate there,” he said.

In the last two-and-a-half decades, the Gurdaspur constituency could not elect a candidate who remained connected to its voters. The trend began with the defeat of Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder in 1997. The latest addition to the list is Sunny Deol, who has been rarely seen in Gurdaspur in the last four years. The actor-politician, however, did come to Amritsar recently to promote his latest movie.

Will run united campaign

I am now responsible for my party’s work in the entire state. Gurdaspur is our bastion and we will run a united campaign to ensure the success of our candidate there. — Sunil Jakhar, Punjab BJP president