38 file papers from 4 seats on last day
A total of 38 candidates filed papers on Monday on the last day of nominations for the four seats of bypolls in Punjab.
Sixteen candidates filed nomination in Phagwara, where a direct fight is expected between a former IAS officer, Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, of the Congress and Rajesh Bagha, a former chairman of the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission of the BJP. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is expected to be in the race as well, as it has a sizeable vote-bank in the constituency that is reserved for Scheduled Castes.
Dhaliwal, who filed his papers on Monday accompanied by Congress in-charge of Punjab affairs, Asha Kumari and supporters, is betting on the state government’s performance over the past twoand-a-half years. Bagha, is contesting polls in the name of development done by former BJP MLA Som Parkash, whose election as MP necessitated this bypoll. Parkash is now Union minister of state for commerce and industry. Bagha filed his nomination in the presence of former minister Manoranjan Kalia; however, the senior local leaders did not accompany him. Parkash, state BJP chief Shwait Malik and former Union minister Vijay Sampla reached the nomination office, after his papers had been filed.
The Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) has seen a rift with Lok Insaaf Party filing its own candidate, Jarnail Nangal, on the Phagwara seat; PDA is supporting BSP candidate Bhagwan Dass. Nangal has been an active local Dalit leader and had recently raised the issue of irregularities in the implementation of the Post-Matric Scholarship scheme. Among Independent candidates, Nitu Shatra Wala, whose video of crying after a low vote count at the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat went viral, is in the fray. Dhaliwal reported total assets of ₹94 lakh, with Bagha reporting assets of ₹77 lakh.
11 SUBMIT NOMINATION FOR JALALABAD
Eleven persons have filed nomination papers for contesting bypoll in Jalalabad. Congress has fielded former Punjab Youth Congress president Raminder Awla, a businessman; Raj Singh Dibbipura is the nominee of the SAD with Mohinder Singh Kachura getting the ticket from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Both the SAD and the AAP nominee are from the Rai Sikh community. Former national secretary of the Indian Youth Congress, Goldy Kamboj, has filed papers as an Independent.
From the Congress, state party chief Sunil Jakhar, cabinet ministers Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Sadhu Singh Dharmasot, Gurpreet Singh Kangar and others accompanied Awla when he went to file his papers.
SAD president Sukhbir Badal accompanied Raj Singh when he went to file his papers. “We will contest the by-poll on the issue of development and register unparalleled victories in all four assembly constituencies,” Sukhbir claimed.”
10 FILE PAPERS FROM MUKERIAN
Congress candidate Indu Bala, BJP candidate Jangi Lal Mahajan and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Gurdhian Singh were among the 10 candidates who filed their nomination papers on Monday for the Mukerian bypolls. Indu Bala’s son Sabhya Sanchi filed papers as her covering candidate. Bala is the widow of former MLA Rajnish Babbi whose death in August necessitated the bypoll. Gurbatan Singh of Akali Dal (Amritsar), Arjun of Shiv Sena (Hindustan Shakti Sena) and independent Amandeep Singh Ghotra also filed their papers.
Union minister for state Som Parkash, former minister Vijay Sampla, state BJP chief Shwait Malik and senior BJP leader Ashwani Sharma accompanied Mahajan to the office of the returning officer but former state minister Arunesh Shakar, who was also in ticket race, stayed away. The Congress nominee was flanked by state industries minister Sunder Sham Arora.
CM BY HIS SIDE, SANDHU FILES NOMINATION
Congress candidate for the upcoming bypolls of Dakha constituency, Captain Sandeep Sandhu, 50, submitted his nomination papers to the returning officer at the mini-secretariat in Ludhiana on Monday. Accompanied by chief minister Amarinder Singh, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, and food and supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Sandhu said he was confident of a win.