Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is for the first time contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab without any alliance, on Wednesday declared the names of its three more candidates, while holding back the name for the Fatehgarh Sahib segment. With this, BJP has now announced its candidates for 12 out of total 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.
The saffron party has laid its bet on Dr Subhash Sharma — the party’s spokesperson, state vice-president, and a prominent Hindu face — to contest from the Anandpur Sahib constituency. A first-timer, Dr Sharma will be facing Congress former MP Vijay Inder Singla, SAD’s former MP Prem Singh Chandumjra; and AAP’s chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang on the crucial panthic seat.
Besides, the BJP has announced the candidature of Congress’ two former MLAs — Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi from Firozpur; and Arvind Khanna from Sangrur. While Rana Sodhi will face tough challenge from Congress’ former MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, SAD’s Nardev Singh Bobby Mann, and AAP’s Muktsar MLA Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar; Khanna will face Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, SAD;s former MLA Iqbal Singh Jhoonda, and AAP MLA and Cabinet Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer in Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home constituency.
The BJP has put on hold the announcement for its candidate from Fatehgarh Sahib constituency. Notably, the process of filing of nomination has already begun from Tuesday (May 7), and will continue till next week by May 14.
Locked in multi-cornered contest, all the major political parties in the state — Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), except the BJP, have declared its candidates on all the 13 seats.
Among the 12 candidates, BJP has fielded six turncoats, including Congress’ sitting MPs — Preneet Kaur from Patiala and Ravneet Singh Bittu from Ludhiana; AAP’s sitting MP Sushil Kumar Rinku from Jalandhar; Congress’ former MLAs — former Minister Rana Sodhi from Firozpur, and Khanna from Sangrur; besides former Akali MLA Manjeet Singh Manna Mianwind from Khadoor Sahib.
The ticket has also been given to the political greenhorns and new entrants — a former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu from Amritsar; and retired IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu — daughter-in-law of former Akali Minister Sikander Singh Maluka from Bathinda.
The remaining four seats have been allotted to BJP leaders — including former MLA from Dinanagar Dinesh Babbu has been fielded from Gurdaspur; state BJP’s vocal leader Dr Sharma from Anandpur Sahib; Sufi singer and party MP from West Delhi Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot; and Anita Som Prakash — a first-timer and wife of Union Minister and sitting MP Som Prakash from Hoshiarpur.
