MLA report card: OP Soni and Navjot Kaur Sidhu

OP Soni, 60, Congress

Constituency: Amritsar-Central

Education: Class 12

Assets declared in last polls: Rs 9.8 cr

Electoral record

2012: Defeated BJP rival Tarun Chugh by a margin of 12,797 votes

2007: Soni won Amritsar-W; this seat went to BJP’s Laxmi Kanta Chawla

Assembly record

Questions asked: 0

Call attention moved: 0

Power punch A prominent Hindu face of Cong, individually popular

What next Four-time MLA who has balanced factions well, will get ticket

How he performed

The four-time MLA moved to Central segment after his old stronghold, Amritsar-West, got reserved for SCs. He could not do much to bring any development or major project to the constituency which by and large comprises of the old Walled City. He, however, claims that it was at his initiative and due to his proximity with former PM Manmohan Singh that the previous UPA government included Amritsar into the urban renewal mission and also granted a sewerage project. Yet, the area suffers choked sewers. Traffic bottlenecks are numerous. He has been a regular visitor and keeps in touch with the trader community, in particular. He got Rs 3.5 crore from Congress MPs with which he improved drinking water facilities.

By the way Uses morning, evening walks to meet people

Voterspeak

“Our MLA’s work was not very good. He was not always available in the area. Some work has happened, but much more should have been done despite his limitations,” Sania Chopra, 29, housewife, said.

“He did nothing. Poor hygiene was not addressed and, as a result, dengue spread. He was not even available in the area much, forget doing something concrete,” Rajnish Sharma, 48, school owner, said.

Navjot Kaur Sidhu, 53, Ex-BJP*

Constituency: Amritsar-East

Education: Doctor (MD)

Assets declared in last polls: Rs 22.5 cr

Electoral record

2012: Defeated independent candidate Simerpreet Kaur by 7,099 votes

2007: She did not contest; seat too came up later in new delimitation

Assembly record

Questions asked: 0

Call attention moved: 0

Power punch Wife of ex-MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, who banks on popularity

What next Depends on where her husband-led Awaaz-e-Punjab goes

How she performed

In the entire tenure, she remained at loggerheads with the BJP’s alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal. Though her constituency was backward and had a lot of rural areas, she managed to get the Verka flyover (under-construction), Mehta-Maqboopura road, truck stand scheme, and a medicine centre at Verka. Often accusing Akalis of not releasing funds, she says she was largely dependent on MPLAD funds of her husband who was Amritsar Lok Sabha MP till 2014. Though she kept in touch with her constituency, the Akalis ran a parallel group and, at times, she wasn’t even informed of functions. Due to her differences, she quit the BJP in September. Now her fate is tied to Awaaz-e-Punjab, led by her husband, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu.

By the way Known to be extremely superstitious

Voterspeak

“She has got work done is some areas but many areas are totally ignored. Road condition is such that even walking on the street is tough. She has not been a regular visitor,” Neeraj Maini, 26, shopkeeper, said.

“She selectively got done work in some areas. Election year has come but some areas still are in a mess. An issues she promised to address was the railway crossings,” Charanjit Singh, 52, banker, said.

*Navjot Kaur sidhu won on BJP ticket, quit party in Sept this year

Tomorrow: Khemkaran, Khadoor sahib, Tarn Taran, and Patti