In the 2022 parliamentary elections, the people of Punjab sent 88 first-time members to the Vidhan Sabha, accounting for over 75 per cent of the total 117-member Lok Sabha. Among those who entered Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time were Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and seven MPs who became ministers in the state cabinet.
Two years later, Punjab is once again in the midst of election turmoil. The state is scheduled to elect 13 members on June 1 in the final stage of a seven-phase parliamentary election.
Almost all parties contesting in 2022, including AAP, Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal, were betting on new recruits. The same political parties now trying to win, keep, or steal parliamentary seats from each other are making big bets on established faces. A heated contest is underway in the state involving a former CM, former deputy CM, five ministers, at least 12 MLAs, seven MPs and state party leaders.
Candidates have been announced for 12 of the 13 seats in the state, with the Congress’ former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi from Jalandhar, the then deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa from Gurdaspur, and the state unit of the party It is betting on heavyweights such as Amrinder, the director and former minister. Singh Raja Waring from Ludhiana.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has elected Dr Balbir Singh from Patiala, Gurmeet Singh Qudian from Bathinda, Laljit Singh Brar from Khadoor Sahib, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Amritsar and Sangrur. It has fielded at least five ministers, including Gurmeet Singh Hayer. Besides these five ministers, at least seven other members of parliament are also in the fray.
AAP has fielded three sitting MLAs including Ashok Parashar Papi from Ludhiana, Amanshah Singh Shelly Kalshi from Gurdaspur and Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar from Ferozepur. . Congress MLA Dr Raj Kumar Chavewal, who joined AAP, is currently contesting from Hoshiarpur.
The Congress has fielded Dera Baba Nanak MLA from Gurdaspur, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of the party’s Rajasthan in-charge, and Bohras MLA Sukhpal Khaira from Sangur. Mr. Waring, who is in conflict with Ludhiana, represents Gidelbach in Punjab’s Vidhan Sabha.
The up-and-comer who defeated Badal was Qudian, one of the 88 people elected as MLAs for the first time. The new members elected to the Lok Sabha included 81 from AAP, four from Congress, one each from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP, and one independent.
In Punjab, at least seven current MPs are in conflict. Among them is Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a former Union minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader from Bathinda, who has been elected for three consecutive terms.
Preneet Kaur, another woman lawmaker and political heavyweight, is seeking re-election from Patiala. Preneet, a member of the old royal family and wife of former CM Captain Amarinder Singh, has been an MP from Patiala four times, including three times in a row.
Her winning streak ended in 2014 when she lost to AAP’s Dr Dharambila Gandhi. Dr Gandhi is contesting against her again although he is a Congress candidate.
The Congress has also dumped its faith in Dr Amar Singh and Gurjeet Singh Aujla, hoping to retain their Fatehgarh Sahib and Amritsar seats respectively. Ravneet Singh Bittu, a defector to the Bharatiya Janata Party and a three-time Lok Sabha member, is contesting again from Ludhiana, the seat he won in 2014 and 2019.
The BJP is also betting on the Sushil Kumar link in Jalandhar. Rinku, a turncoat, was elected as an AAP candidate from the seat in a bypoll required after the death of the then sitting Congress MP, but defected to the BJP soon after the AAP nominated him as its Jalandhar candidate.
Simranjit Singh Mann of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) from Sangrur is also seeking re-election. Mann was elected as Lok Sabha MP from Sangrur in 2022, but later resigned and vacated his seat when the then MP Bhagwant Singh Mann was elected as Vidhan Sabha MP, and later became the Chief Minister. was appointed. The BJP has also fielded Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot. Hans Raj Hans hails from Jalandhar, but he was elected to Parliament from North West Delhi constituency in 2019.
The BJP is fielding former bureaucrats and former diplomats in this election as well. These include Parampal Kaur in Bathinda and Taranjit Singh Sandhu in Amritsar. While Kaur had resigned as an IAS officer to contest the polls, Sandhu, who was posted in the US, jumped into the fray after his retirement.
Fatehgarh Sahib MP Dr Amar Singh is also a former IAS officer. He is also a qualified doctor and is one of five people in contention. Other contestants include Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema of SAD who will be competing from Gurdaspur. Dr. Balbir Singh of AAP (Patiala). Dr. Dharambila Gandhi of Congress (Patiala). and Dr. Raj Kumar Chavewal of AAP from Hoshiarpur.
Notably, the ruling AAP has fielded its chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Khan from Anandpur Sahib, while the Akali Dal has also appointed Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema from Gurdaspur.
Incidentally, Cheema is also a former minister, like two other SAD candidates, Anil Joshi (Amritsar) and Sohan Singh Tandar (Hoshalpur).
The Faridkot seat will see an interesting contest between two artistes – Hans Raj Hans of the BJP, a prominent singer, and Karamjit Singh Anmol of the AAP, an actor-singer. This seat is currently represented by Mohd Sadiq, a member of parliament who is also a well-known singer.
Gangster-turned-activist Lakha Sidhana is also in the fray from Bathinda as Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) candidate.
