Two Congress candidates, Dr Dharambira Gandhi from Patiala and Sukhpal Singh Khaira from Sanroor, filed their candidature for the Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday. Voting in Punjab will be held on June 1.
Before filing the papers, Mr. Gandhi attended a road show in Patiala and was accompanied by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Waring.
Gandhi, who recently joined the Congress, is competing against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Preneet Kaur and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Balbir Singh in Patiala.
Addressing people at a roadshow, Waring slammed former Punjab chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Captain Amarinder Singh. “The era of maharajas and maharanis is over. Now is the era of common people. They (Preneet Kaur and Captain Amarinder Singh) are looking for voters while sitting in the comfort of their palaces. Now times have changed. They have to come out and ask for votes, and they can’t do that,” Walling said.
Immediately after the roadshow in Patiala, Mr Walling went to Sangrur and addressed a rally in support of Mr Kaira.
Bohras MLA Kaira will be competing against Punjab minister Gurmeet Singh Hayer and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) sitting MP Simranjit Singh Mann. Shiromani Akali Dal has appointed Iqbal Singh Jundan. Sangrur Assembly constituency is considered a stronghold of AAP.
Kaira held a huge rally in Sangrur, which was attended by several party leaders. However, Mr Walling did not accompany him to submit the documents.
After submitting the papers, Kaira criticized the AAP government for promoting VIP culture in the media. “Instead of ending his VIP culture, AAP is promoting it. It is evident from the number of vehicles in the Punjab CM’s parade. Instead of reducing the debt, the AAP government is promoting it for two years. We received more loans during that time.”