Randhawa out to defend family bastion against AAP, BJP

With the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) deciding to opt out of contesting the assembly bypolls, Dera Baba Nanak constituency is set to see triangular contest, with Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, whose wife Jatinder Kaur is Congress nominee, going all out to defend his bastion against a spirited Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominees, Gurdeep Singh Randhawa and former Akali leader Ravikaran Singh Kahlon, respectively.

The bypoll was necessitated after former deputy chief minister Randhawa was elected as MP from Gurdaspur.

Both AAP and BJP nominees also unsuccessfully contested the 2022 assembly polls from here. Kahlon, who is the son of Akali stalwart and former Punjab assembly speaker late Nirmal Singh Kahlon, contested the elections on the ticket of the SAD and gave a close fight to the then deputy CM Randhawa and lost only by 466 votes. While Randhawa’s vote share was 36.41%, Kahlon secured 36.08% votes. AAP’s Gurdeep Singh Randhawa finished third with only 22% votes despite a state-wide unprecedented wave in support of the AAP.

The historic small town—Dera Baba Nanak—gained fame after being linked to the last resting place of Guru Nanak, Kartarpur Sahib (Pakistan)—through visa-free trans-border corridor, a long pending demand of the Indian Sikh community.

Stakes high for deputy CM’s family

The bypoll is turning out to be a battle of prestige for Sukhjinder and he is leaving no stone unturned to protect his bastion against a challenge from the ruling party.

The border constituency has two main issues — development and employment. Villages close to the zero line are still backward and girls have to cover long distances for higher studies.

Part of Fatehgarh Churian, the Dera Baba Nanak constituency was carved out in 2012 and since then Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has been winning from here.

However, Sukhjinder Randhawa’s wins have been far from one-sided. Up against SAD’s Sucha Singh Langah, the contests in 2012 and 2017 remained neck-and-neck.

Sukhjinder won in 2017 by just 1,194 votes, while the margin in 2012 was 2,940 votes. His son Udayvir Singh and wife Jatinder Kaur have remained active in the constituency and have been in contact with the people.

To woo the voters, Sukhjinder Randhawa is highlighting the development works during the Congress regime. “AAP national chief Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann are taking credit for the projects which were initiated during the Congress regime. During a rally held at Agwan village, Kejriwal announced many projects which have already been executed and foundation stones of some were laid by me. They are selling blatant lies to fool the voters”, Randhawa said while addressing a poll meeting.

Will usher in new era of devp: AAP’s nominee

Gurdeep Randhawa is being seen as a major player and with the backing of the ruling party he is eying a chance to end Randhawa’s winning streak.

Both AAP top leaders, including CM Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal, have addressed rallies in his favour in the last few days. Mann has addressed two political gatherings targeting both Congress and its nominee.

The AAP leaders are calling the bypoll as a chance for the voters to elect an MLA of the ruling party, which will open doors for funds for the development and welfare of the segment. “Being a sewadar of this halqa, I ensured many development works were done efficiently in the last two and half years. Besides, the people are getting benefits from state-wide welfare deeds of the present government. The voters will support AAP,” said Gurdeep Randhawa.

Kahlon banks on family legacy

In the rural constituency, dominant Jat Sikhs were the main vote bank of the SAD. As a saffron party nominee, Ravikaran Singh Khalon faces an uphill battle.

With the negligible presence of BJP cadre, Khalon is banking on his family legacy to garner votes. In the 2022 assembly polls, the BJP candidate could garner only 1,913 votes. However, Kahlon’s family has close ties in this rural constituency and can be a dark horse on the polling day. His father late Nirmal Singh Kahlon represented the Fatehgarh Churian constituency twice in 1997 and 2007 in the assembly. Before the last delimitation just ahead of the 2012 assembly polls, Dera Baba Nanak was carved out of the Fatehgarh Churian constituency.

In the campaign, he and BJP workers are listing the tasks done by the (PM) Narendra Modi government for Punjab and Sikhs, including opening of the Kartarpur corridor, besides raising local issues. “The people have a chance toteach a lesson to the AAP government and Congress. I hope people of this segment will do their duty well”, said Kahlon while addressing a poll meeting.

Although SAD is not in the poll fray, Langah family also holds sway in this segment and it will be interesting to see which nominee the hard-core panthic voters will support.