Congress suspends Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary for ‘anti-party activities’

The Congress on Wednesday suspended Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities.

Chaudhary has been opposing former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s candidature from Jalandhar.

Miffed over being sidelined, Vikramjit’s mother Karamjjit Kaur Chaudhary, who had unsuccessfully contested from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat last year, snapped ties with Congress and joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on April 20.

Vikramjit, who had been lobbying for the ticket, had also resigned from the party’s chief whip in Punjab Vidhan Sabha last week.

The Congress high command initiated action after his statements against Channi.

“The unrestrained statements made by you (Vikramjit) that deviate from the party guidelines are not in keeping with the dignity of your post. Due to which the image of the party organisation is being tarnished and a wrong message is being sent among the public and Congress workers,” said Congress in-charge Punjab affairs Devendra Yadav in his communication to Chaudhary.

“Despite several warnings given to you personally, your conduct of indulging in anti-party activities continues. Therefore, until further action is taken in the matter, you are henceforth removed from all party positions held by you and suspended from the party till further orders,” Yadav added.

Vikramjit Chaudhary was among the top contenders from Dalit-dominant Jalandhar parliamentary constituency, which was represented by his late father Santokh Singh Chaudhary twice in 2009 and 2014.

Santokh died during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra on January 14, 2023, following which his wife Karamjit Kaur unsuccessfully contested bypolls in the same year and lost to Aam Aadmi Party candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku with a margin of 58,691 votes.

Reacting to suspension, Vikramjit Chaudhary said he stands by his statements against Channi.

“I still believe that Channi is a disgrace to the party and people of Jalandhar. Former CM is facing ED and VB probes, besides his name also surfaced in the ‘me too’ campaign. We lost state assembly elections due to insensitive and poll gimmicks,” he said.

He added that the party has ignored the Chaudhary family and has given the ticket to Channi, an outsider. Channi has been already rejected by the people of Bhadaur and Chamkaur Sahib in the 2022 assembly segments, and the people of Jalandhar will teach him the same lesson.

“The Congress high command failed to recognise my father’s sacrifice for the party. During this election, the party has committed a blunder by giving the tickets to defectors on most of the constituencies in Punjab,” Chaudhary said.

Family’s rich political legacy

The Chaudharys have a rich political legacy. The family has been active in electoral politics since 1936. In every Congress government formed in the state, at least one member from the family had always had the opportunity to serve as a minister, holding important portfolios.

Vikramjit’s grandfather Master Gurbanta Singh was a seven-time MLA and last won an election in 1972 when he was elected unopposed. He had close ties with Dera Sachkhand Ballan, considered to have a sway over the parliamentary constituency.

Gurbanta’s elder son, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, remained a five-time MLA, while his younger son, Santokh Singh, remained MLA thrice and became MP twice in 2014 and 2019. Both contested from Kartarpur and Phillaur constituencies, and later Jagjit’s son Surinder Chaudhary became MLA from Kartarpur in 2017. Vikramjit Singh became MLA from Phillaur in the 2022 assembly polls and became the Chaudhary family’s 16th representative in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, which also happens to be the state’s 16th assembly.