Entering Punjab’s electoral arena as a senior partner in the coalition, the saffron party is set to lay its bet on the tried and tested leaders for the February 20 elections.
Expected to be announced any time now, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) first list of candidates for Punjab elections is likely to have over a dozen names — mostly the sitting or former legislators. The nod for the list, finalised by the party leadership, is awaited from BJP’s parliamentary board.
The BJP has reportedly decided to field four sitting MLAs — including two former Congressmen – Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi from Ferozepur, and Harjot Kamal from Moga, other than BJP’s Arun Narang from Abohar and Dinesh Babu from Sujanpur. Rana Gurmeet is currently sitting MLA from Guru Har Sahai.
Besides, the party’s Punjab unit president Ashwani Sharma is expected to once again contest from Pathankot, while Punjab’s former Ministers — Manoranjan Kalia will enter the poll fray from Jalandhar, Surjit Kumar Jiyani from Fazilka, and Tikshan Sud from Hoshiarpur.
Former MLA and Akali Dal leader Didar Singh Bhatti, who recently joined the BJP, is expected to contest from Fatehgarh Sahib. Bhatti had worked as SAD halka in-charge in Fatehgarh Sahib constituency for the past 10 years and is a successful businessman. Mahendra Bhagat, party’s candidate from Jalandhar West in 2017 polls, may also be fielded from the same seat this time again. Punjab’s Industrial Board’s former chairman Raghunath Singh Rana may contest from Dasuya. The names of the probable candidates have been finalised after extensive discussion at the state level.
After its decades-old ally, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), severed its ties with the BJP, the saffron party is set to contest Punjab polls in alliance with Punjab Lok Congress – headed by former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) – led by Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, and also Lok Insaaf Party – led by Bains Brothers.
As per the seat sharing arrangement, the saffron party will have a lion’s share among the total 117 seats in Punjab, and will field its candidates on 60 to 62 seats, while Capt Amarinder-led PLC gets 38-40 seats and Dhindsa-led Akali faction gets 10-12 seats in its share.
Lok Insaaf Party, led by Simarjeet Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains — both MLAs and popularly known as Bains Brothers, is likely to be part of the BJP-led alliance and may contest on two to five seats.
The saffron party has all along been playing a second fiddle to its ally, SAD, which severed the decades-old ties with BJP over the issue of Centre’s three agriculture acts. SAD has now forged an alliance with the BSP for ensuing elections.
BJP, on the other hand, has tied up with the splinter groups led by the stalwarts of Punjab politics — Capt Amarinder and Dhindsa.
But this time, BJP would be the senior partner in the alliance having majority of seats in its share — for the first time in Punjab.
