Congress reaches out to Moose Wala’s father amid speculation of poll debut from Bathinda

Speculation of slain singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Bathinda as an independent has prompted the Congress to make active efforts to reach out.

Leader of Opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa and Congress’ Bathinda candidate Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu will visit Balkaur Singh at his residence in Moosa village, Mansa, on Monday to hold direct talks. There is also a possibility of the party offering him the party ticket from Bathinda.

The slain singer’s father, who recently welcomed a second son with his wife through IVF, had in a conversation with locals at his residence hinted at taking a plunge into politics and contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa, a close associate of the Moose Wala family had earlier claimed that they had succeeded in persuading Balkaur Singh to contest the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate.

He said the family had informed the Congress high command of his decision to contest as an independent candidate after the party reached out through MLA Pargat Singh before the meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee on Saturday.

Moose Wala had taken the plunge into politics by joining the Congress in December 2021. He unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Punjab assembly elections from Mansa, losing to AAP’s Dr Vijay Singla by a margin of 63,323 votes. The singer was shot dead by six assailants at Jawahar Ke village in Punjab’s Mansa on May 29 last year.