Sangrur Lok Sabha seat all set for a 5-cornered contest

Even as the surging AAP wave seems to have ebbed following Moose Wala’s killing, the ruling party still has an edge over a divided opposition

SANGRUR: Sangrur, the hinterland of Punjab’s Malwa belt, has been the epicentre of several socio-economic movements. When it comes to electoral politics, it is known to have sprung many surprises, the recent one being the rise of Bhagwant Mann.

Belonging to Satoj village in Sangrur’s Sunam, the former comedian-satirist, riding high on the anger of Punjabis against traditional parties, twice got elected as the Lok Sabha member from here and is now among the youngest chief ministers of Punjab.

The bypoll, which was necessitated after Mann’s resignation from the seat, is a litmus test of his popularity as it is the first major election following the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s massive victory in the Punjab assembly elections earlier this year.

The groundswell of support for the AAP, which started with Mann’s first parliamentary election win in 2014, reached its peak in 2022, when the party won 92 of the 117 assembly seats in Punjab, including all the nine under the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat.

Mann’s charisma

Even as the surging AAP wave seems to have ebbed due to public ire following singer Sidhu Moose Wala’s brutal murder in the neighbouring Mansa district, the ruling party still has an edge with the opposition parties marred with divisions in their rank and file. Even the history is on its side, as in most parliamentary bypolls held in Punjab during the first year of state government formation, the ruling party candidate has won.

After the initial hiccups, the AAP campaign has picked up steam with the entry of Bhagwant Mann. Party candidate Gurmail Singh, the AAP’s district unit in-charge and sarpanch of Gharchon village, has no political standing except of being Mann’s protégé.

With his political satire and the capability to connect with the masses, Mann remains the popular leader in the area. The chief minister is making his action against corruption as the major poll plank besides promising more job opportunities to the people.

Security plank

However, the AAP is still facing the heat over the law and order situation and non-fulfilment of free power and other pre-poll promises. Kewal Singh Dhillon, former Congress MLA and now the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, is building his campaign on the issue of law and order and is drawing support in urban areas, particularly from the business community, after Moose Wala’s murder.

“People are getting extortion calls across the state. They don’t need any comedian, but a personality like Yogi Adityanath. Only the BJP can ensure internal and external security. A vote for the BJP is a vote for security, law and order, and for more funding for Punjab,” says Dhillon, while promising funds for the area and an airport in Sangrur if voted to the Lok Sabha.

The X factor

Meanwhile, it’s not just Bhagwant Mann, but also former Sangrur MP and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann who has made this election more interesting. Among the candidates in the fray, he possesses the best oratory skills and is raising issues that concern the people. Even as the Congress is raking up Moose Wala’s murder, its indirect benefit is going to Simranjit Singh Mann, especially in villages, as Moose Wala had apparently promised to support him.

Responding to his rivals, who call him radical, the SAD (Amritsar) leader says: “I am not anti-Hindu; I am pro-Sikh and pro-Punjabi. It’s not wrong if I want to work for my community. As an MP, I had made shelters for cows, who are worshiped by Hindus. So how am I against them? I am fighting for human rights and want to reach a platform from where my voice can reach across the world — and that is the Indian Parliament.”

In his speeches, he rakes up the issues of Panthic politics, while terming the SAD, BJP and Congress as “anti-Punjab” and accusing the AAP of being controlled by “Delhi-wallas”.

Panthic refuge

For the SAD, it was quite tough to find a suitable candidate, as Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his son Parminder Dhindsa, who were the pillars of the party in Sangrur, floated their own outfit SAD (Sanyukt) and joined hands with the BJP.

Finally, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal took the advice of Akal Takht jathedar and gave the ticket to Kamaldeep Kaur, who is the foster sister of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana.

A political novice, Kamaldeep is banking upon Sukhbir, who is spearheading her campaign even as the party seems have lost its grip on the area. As the militant angle cropped up, no prominent Hindu leader of the party has so far come out to campaign for Kamaldeep.

Young gun

For the Congress, former Dhuri MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy, who lost his seat to Bhagwant Mann in the recent polls, is the party candidate. A young gun, Goldy is popular among the youth, but the party’s prospects have gone haywire.

Even though state chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring is campaigning for Goldy along with former ministers and MLAs, the party is unable to draw support from its core voters. In fact, the party has no prominent leader is four assembly segments of Dirba, Barnala, Bhadaur and Sunam. Besides law and order, the Congress is also raising the issue of AAP’s unfulfilled promises.

“If you want to get your works done and to get free power and monthly ₹1,000 (for women), vote for the Congress as we will pressurise the AAP to fulfil its promises,” says Goldy during his campaign.

Amid the heat wave and paddy sowing season making campaigning tough for all parties and their candidates, the field is set for a five-cornered contest as the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat goes to the polls on June 23.