Bypoll battle: Manpreet, Amrita, Ishank, among six file nomination papers in Punjab

Former finance minister Manpreet Badal, AAP’s Hardeep Singh Dimpy and Congress’ Amrita Warring filed their nomination papers for the high-stakes Gidderbaha by-poll on Thursday.

Manpreet, 62, was the first to submit his election papers. He was accompanied by the Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Singh Bittu and other BJP leaders from the state. A law graduate from a London college, he has represented Gidderbaha for four consecutive terms as the Akali leader.

Another political turncoat and candidate of the ruling AAP Hardeep Singh Dimpy remained with the SAD for nearly three decades and shifted his loyalty to the ruling before the bypoll. Dhillon was inducted into the AAP by the state convener of the party and chief minister Bhagwant Mann on August 28.

Congress state president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring who retained the Gidderbaha seat for the last three consecutive terms after breaching the Akali bastion accompanied his wife Amrita Warring for filing nomination papers. The 45-year-old Amrita holds a postgraduate degree in computer science and the entrepreneur has business interests in an event management company and a hospitality venture.

Meanwhile, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Gurdeep Singh Randhawa and BJP’s nominee Ravikaran Singh Kahlon filed nomination papers for the Dera Baba Nanak assembly bypoll.

Kahlon reached the office of SDM-cum-returning officer at Dera Baba Nanak falling in Gurdaspur district along with Punjab BJP former president Ashwani Sharma. “I am very thankful to the party which gave me the opportunity to contest the elections. I have entered the fray with the BJP’s popular slogan of ‘Sab Ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas’”, Kahlon said.

He said, “Dera Baba Nanak is a border constituency and unemployment is a big issue here. Secondly, there is no major industry in this area. These are some issues, which I will raise during my poll campaign”.

In the 2022 assembly elections, Kahlon gave a close fight to Congress’ Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and lost only by 466 votes.

AAP’s Randhawa filed nomination papers in the presence of cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Batala MLA Amansher Singh Kalsi, PUNSUP chairman Balbir Singh Pannu and Punjab AAP general secretary Jagroop Singh Sekhwan.

Dhaliwal said the victory of the AAP nominees is sure in all four constituencies. “I will contest the elections on the tasks done by the AAP government for the welfare of the people of Punjab,” he said.

In Hoshiarpur, AAP nominee Ishank Kumar filed nomination papers for the Chabbewal bypoll. He was accompanied by his father Raj Kumar Chabbewal, who is the sitting MP from Hoshiarpur and state cabinet minister Ravjot Singh. He held a roadshow before filing the papers with the returning officer at the mini secretariat.

Ishank Kumar, 30, is a radiologist by profession. His involvement in politics was earlier limited to campaigning for his father in the elections but his activities increased after the Chabbewal seat fell vacant due to the latter’s resignation as Congress legislator. Raj Kumar joined the AAP and became an MP.

“Chabbewal has been my father’s karambhumi for years. Following his footsteps, I will try to do the best for this constituency”, he added.