Tag: Punjab polls

ED Raids Arrested Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain’s House

These raids are being conducted as part of a “follow up” exercise in the five-year-old case, officials have claimed.

New Delhi: Early on Monday, June 6, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids against arrested Delhi minister Satyendar Jain as part of a five-year-old money-laundering investigation being conducted against him.

Among places raided were residential properties belonging to Jain in Delhi. These are being conducted as part of a “follow up” in the case, officials told PTI.

Jain was arrested on May 30 under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Enforcement Directorate was granted his custody by a court till June 9.

The Aam Aadmi Party and its national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have called the case against Jain “completely fake and politically motivated”.

His arrest has come at a time when Jain – as the AAP’s in charge of the poll-bound Himachal Pradesh – has been busy with the party’s organisational and political affairs.

In January, ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, Kejriwal claimed he had learnt from sources that Jain could be arrested by the ED.

ED Gets Custody of Satyendar Jain Till June 9; Kejriwal Calls Case ‘Completely Fake’

The Delhi minister’s arrest has come at a time when Jain – as the AAP’s in charge of the poll-bound Himachal Pradesh – has been busy with the party’s organisational and political affairs.

New Delhi: A court has granted the Enforcement Directorate custody of the Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain till June 9 as Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the case against him “completely fake and politically motivated”.

The ED was represented in court by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Jain was represented by advocate Hariharan, who alleged that the grounds of arrest in this case had not moved an “inch” from the CBI charge sheet.

The ED on May 30, arrested Jain in a five-year-old money laundering case which had arisen out of a First Information Report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in August 2017.

Jain and others were accused of possessing of “disproportionate assets.”

His arrest has come at a time when Jain – as the AAP’s in charge of the poll-bound Himachal Pradesh – has been busy with the party’s organisational and political affairs.

AAP chief Kejriwal on Tuesday asserted that his government and AAP are “hardcore honest”.

“I have studied the case against Jain. It is completely fake and motivated by political reasons and he has been deliberately framed. We have faith in the judiciary. Jain will come out clean and the fake case will not sustain,” the chief minister told reporters during an inspection of a road development programme of his government.

“They will say anything. If there were even one per cent substance in it it, I would have taken action,” Kejriwal said, when asked about the opposition Congress and BJP demand to remove Jain.

Delhi units of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have welcomed Jain’s arrest in the case. The BJP has demanded that Kejriwal should remove Jain from his Cabinet.

In January, ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, Kejriwal claimed he had learnt from sources that Jain could be arrested by the ED.

(With PTI inputs)

ED Arrests Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain; ‘Fake Case Ahead of HP Polls’, Says Sisodia

Though the ED had questioned the AAP leader in 2018 in connection with this case, for the next three years there was little progress in it.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday, May 30, arrested Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain in a five-year-old money laundering case which had arisen out of a First Information Report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in August 2017.

Jain and others were accused of possessing of “disproportionate assets.”

His arrest has come at a time when Jain – as the AAP’s in charge of the poll-bound Himachal Pradesh – has been busy with the party’s organisational and political affairs.

Though the ED had questioned the Shakur Basti MLA of Aam Aadmi Party in 2018 in connection with this case, for the next three years there was little progress in it.

Earlier this year, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had said he has been “informed by sources that the ED may arrest Jain just before assembly elections in Punjab.”

“From our sources we have got to know that right before Punjab polls in the coming few days the ED is going to arrest Satyendar Jain. They are most welcome. Previously too, the Union government had conducted raids at Satyendar Jain but got nothing,” Kejriwal had said in a virtual press conference in the national capital.

Jain too had brushed aside the matter, saying: “They are welcome to come whenever they want. Even before this, they have raided me twice but all has been in vain. This is all politics and they did it during the last Punjab elections also. ED, CBI all are welcome. I am ready, if they want to arrest me, they can arrest me.”

AAP eventually won in the Punjab elections.

In April, the agency said that assets worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to Jain’s family and companies “beneficially owned and controlled” by him were provisionally attached as part of a money laundering probe against him.

In a statement, the ED had then stated that it has issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for the attachment of the assets.

Also read: CBI Files Chargesheet Against AAP’s Satyendar Jain in Disproportionate Assets Case

It further added that “the attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belong to Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd., Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd., Manglayatan Projects Pvt. Ltd., J.J. Ideal Estate Pvt. Ltd., Swati Jain, wife of Vaibhav Jain, Sushila Jain, wife of Ajit Prasad Jain, and Indu Jain, wife of Sunil Jain.”

According to the ED, its investigation into the money laundering case had revealed that “during the period 2015-16, when Satyendar Kumar Jain was a public servant, the companies beneficially owned and controlled by him received accommodation entries to the tune of Rs 4.81 crore from shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through the hawala route.”

The central agency had stated that “these amounts were utilised for direct purchase of land or for repayment of loan taken for the purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi”.

AAP says arrest linked to upcoming Himachal Pradesh elections

The Aam Aadmi Party has reacted strongly to Jain’s arrest. Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia tweeted that it was a “fake case”.

He linked the development to the upcoming polls in Himachal Pradesh and wrote: “A fake case is being run against Satyendra Jain for 8 years. Till now ED has been called many times. In between, ED stopped calling for many years as they did not get anything. Now they have started again because Satyendra Jain is the election in-charge of Himachal. BJP is losing badly in Himachal. That is why Satyendra Jain has been arrested today so that he cannot go to Himachal. They will be released in a few days as the case is completely fake.”

Punjab Polls: In Doaba, Where Dalits Hold the Key, Will Channi Wave Work for Congress?

Channi remains a dominant factor in most of the reserved seats in Doaba. However, in seats where anti-incumbency against the Congress is strong, the SAD-BSP and AAP seem to be the frontrunners.

Jalandhar: Punjab’s Doaba region, with an over 32% Dalit concentration, has a history of giving a decisive verdict in favour of a single party. But whether it will repeat its previous record is a difficult question, given the fact that it is a multi-cornered contest in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. The party that gets the maximum Dalit votes usually forms the government.

While the Congress has pinned all hopes on its first ever Dalit chief minister, Charanjit Singh Channi, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (SAD-BSP) alliance came into existence with an eye on a huge Dalit vote bank in the state. On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which failed to open its account in Doaba and Majha regions in the 2017 assembly elections, was riding on the popular ‘jhaadu’ wave, which might spring a surprise in some pockets.

However, ground reports show that chief minister Channi remained a dominant factor in most of the reserved seats in Doaba, but which party will take the lead will only be revealed on March 10.

In Sham Chaurasi, which is part of Hoshiarpur district and is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes, a voter Sarabjit Kaur said that ever since Channi came to power, the people had made up their mind to vote for Congress. “It is for the first time that someone from our Dalit community was made the chief minister. We feel a sense of accomplishment and voted for his pro-poor vision,” she said.

There’s a need of educated, learned and grassroots level leaders, who could bring real change in the society, she added. “People want to get rid of mafias in Punjab. They want education and jobs. Only a person who has risen from the ground can understand a common man’s troubles. This is why chief minister Channi reduced power tariffs and petrol and diesel prices. It is a huge relief for the middle class and the poor,” she added.

Another voter, Jaspal Kainth, from Dhadde village of the reserved Adampur seat in Jalandhar shared how the general discussion during his train journey from Begumpura to Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi was mostly about Channi. “Throughout the journey, the passengers could be heard talking about chief minister Channi and the SAD-BSP alliance. Nobody expected that chief minister Channi would reach Seer Govardhanpur on Guru Ravidas Jayanti to pay obeisance, as those were the last days of his hectic campaigning. His visit enthused the voters,” he said.

But there are certain pockets where anti-incumbency against the Congress is strong and the SAD-BSP alliance and AAP appear to be the frontrunners. In the reserved Kartarpur seat of Jalandhar, first-time voter Gagandeep Kaur said that she wants an educated, accessible and a good leader.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal offers sweets to Bahujan†Samaj Party (BSP) Secretary General Satish Chandra Mishra during a joint press conference at the SAD head office in Chandigarh, Saturday, June 12, 2021. Photo: PTI

A group of middle-aged women at Ghazipur and Hirapur villages of Kartarpur said, “Here people are either talking about AAP or the SAD-BSP alliance.”

The last time the BSP won the maximum seats was in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, when the SAD-BSP alliance had won 11 out of 13 seats in Punjab.

Also read: With BJP Facing the Heat in UP, Modi and Crew Pull Out Anti-Muslim Playbook

Mixed signals

In Phagwara and Phillaur assembly seats, voters gave a mixed response about their preference for a leader, which varied from Congress, SAD-BSP, AAP and the BJP.

The BJP won the reserved Phagwara seat of Kapurthala district in the 2017 assembly elections, and this time it has fielded Vijay Sampla, ex-Hoshiarpur MP and former BJP Punjab president. However, in the 2019 bypolls, this seat went to the Congress. The sitting Congress MLA, Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, was pitted against Sampla, SAD-BSP’s candidate Jasbir Singh Garhi, who is also BSP Punjab president, and AAP’s Joginder Singh Mann, a veteran Congress leader from the Valmiki community.

At Khajurla village of Phagwara, another voter Amrik Singh said, “We need respite from drug abuse in our villages and that is why people want to try something new – AAP. But our elderly are asking us to vote for chief minister Channi. We are actually confused about who we should support. There was a time when this region was the hub of chaff cutters industry but it has been wiped out. We need that industry back, and we badly need jobs.”

Similarly, in Phillaur, voters were seen rallying behind the SAD-BSP candidate Baldev Khaira, who is the sitting MLA from this seat. “Our MLA is accessible and listens to our woes. People are talking about the ‘Channi’ wave but we would not like to experiment anything new,” said a voter from Bada Pind village.

Professor G.C. Koul, a Dalit scholar from Jalandhar, who has a doctorate in philosophical study of Guru Ravidas, said, “Though Dalits are divided on castes and religious beliefs, it appears that this time the ‘Channi’ factor played a role in Doaba. It is likely to have an impact on the voting patterns in Majha and Malwa regions too. At the same time, in many constituencies, Dalits have voted for the candidate concerned. But as per my understanding, Congress has an edge in Doaba followed by SAD-BSP and then AAP.”

Koul further said, “Two days before the elections, I noticed how Dalits in different WhatsApp groups affiliated to Guru Ravidas and B.R. Ambedkar’s ideology were forwarding messages like ‘Pehli baar apna banda CM baneya, saare vote payo’ (It is for the first time that our man has become the chief minister, let’s all vote for him) in favour of Channi. Surprisingly, many among them were not even supporters of the Congress as such. If this has actually turned into votes, it will certainly give an edge to the Congress in Doaba. The SAD-BSP will also benefit from the Dalit consolidation in their favour in certain seats.”

Also read: Ten Constituencies to Watch Out for as Punjab Votes

Voting pattern

Doaba region has nine assembly constituencies in Jalandhar, seven in Hoshiarpur, four in Kapurthala and three in Nawanshahr district. Out of the 23 seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes, eight hold the key to the poll outcome. But the voting pattern of the rest of the 15 seats matters equally.

The eight reserved seats are Jalandhar West, Adampur, Kartarpur, Phillaur in Jalandhar; Phagwara in Kapurthala; Banga in Nawanshahr; and Sham Chaurasi and Chabbewal in Hoshiarpur. The concentration of Dalit votes – which include Ad-dharmi, Valmikis and Mazhbi Sikhs – on each of the seats is around 35-40%.

The general seats in Doaba too have a strong Dalit presence, which includes seats like Jalandhar Cantt, Jalandhar North, Jalandhar Central, Hoshiarpur, Nakodar to name a few.

In the 2017 elections, Congress won from four seats – Jalandhar West, Kartarpur, Sham Chaurasi and Chabbewal. The then SAD-BJP alliance wrestled control of Adampur, Phillaur, Phagwara and Banga. However, in the 2019 bypoll, Congress won from Phagwara, as the sitting BJP MLA Som Parkash contested Lok Sabha elections and won from the reserved Hoshiarpur parliamentary seat. Parkash is currently the minister of state for social justice and empowerment. On the other hand, AAP failed to make any impact in Doaba, as it just won two seats – Garhshankar in Hoshiarpur and Bholath in Kapurthala.

While in the 2012 assembly elections, the SAD-BJP alliance had put up an impressive show and won seven out of the total eight reserved seats in Doaba. Congress won only one seat.

In the 2007 assembly polls too, the SAD-BJP alliance had a clean sweep in Doaba and won 20 out of the previous 25 seats (which included Lohian and Nurmahal assembly seats, now merged with other constituencies). The Congress had won four while one seat went to an independent candidate.

Dalits’ stronghold in the Doaba region might be a reason why Channi immediately wrote a letter to Election Commission, seeking postponement of elections from February 14 to some other date. The move came after many people from the Scheduled Caste community demanded a change in polling date in the wake of Sri Guru Ravidas Jayanti.

Is It the Anger Against Traditional Parties That Is Pushing AAP in Punjab?

Many feel that AAP has an advantage as it does not carry with it the baggage of unresolved issues and corruption charges that traditional parties face right now.

Chandigarh: Harpal of Balad Kalan village near Bhawanigarh in Sangrur district of Punjab is quite vocal when asked whom he would vote for this time. “Neither the Akalis nor the Congress ever cared for landless farmers like me. I will vote for change,” he told The Wire.

Does Charanjit Singh Channi – first Dalit chief minister of Punjab and Congress candidate – represent change for him?

Harpal, who himself belongs to the Dalit community and Mazhabi Sikh sub-caste, said that Channi is no different. “Two months ago, I was part of a jatha (march) that held a protest near Channi’s house in Kharar over pending demands of Dalits in Punjab. Instead [of listening to us], the police used batons and sent us back,” he said.

Gurcharan Singh, a farmer from Siyonti village in Pathankot district’s Sujanpur area, told The Wire that this constituency was a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But their promises remained unfulfilled even as the saffron party was in alliance with the Akalis. “We are unhappy with all the traditional patties this time,” he added.

Ahead of the Punjab polls on February 20, a narrative is making a cross-section of people believe that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that has been confronting traditional parties with a focus on its ‘Delhi model’ is leading on public perception.

The party has claimed to have given a facelift to health and education in the national capital where it came to power in 2014. It has promised to replicate the same model in Punjab, if voted to power.

Also read: Three Reasons Why Punjab Is in a State of Political Churn

However, not everyone is convinced of AAP. A farmer Gurdeep Singh of Bajak village near Bathinda city, the stronghold of the Akali Dal, told The Wire that AAP is nowhere in their area. The main fight here is between the Congress and Akali Dal.

But another farmer from the same village, Baldev Singh, said that voters certainly appeared divided on party lines, but they are equally concerned about development issues, thanks to the outcome of the farmers’ movement which made them question the parties ruling them so far.

After the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, except two assembly elections in 1967 and 1969, Punjab voters never delivered a fractured mandate.

Even in the 2017 assembly elections, when AAP’s entry made the contest triangular for the first time, Punjab voted decisively for Congress.

The opinion polls last month, soon after the announcement of the dates for the Punjab assembly polls, predicted the fractured mandate, mainly because of the presence of as many as five players this time, with the BJP-Captain Amarinder-led front and farmers’ party as two new entrants.

Lately two opinion polls (check here and here) showed AAP within a striking range of forming the government but with a wafer-thin majority.

Delhi CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal with the party’s chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Singh Mann ahead of Punjab polls, in Mohali, Tuesday, January 18, 2022. Photo: PTI

Political analyst and also former head of Punjabi University’s department of political science, Jamshed Ali Khan, told The Wire that he had little faith on the credibility of opinion polls, given that they had gone horribly wrong in 2012 as well as in the 2017 polls. Still, it reflects the changing mood to the extent that people are not very keen to vote for traditional parties. The poor performance of the incumbent Congress government has further fanned this feeling.

“In that narrative, AAP is certainly leading, which is a significant change,” he said.

However, AAP’s rivals, including SAD and Congress, argued that AAP was shown with a similar undercurrent in the 2017 elections as well, but it did not get more than 20 seats.

The Akalis are also targeting AAP as “outsiders having no vision for the state”.

Congress spokesperson Raj Veraka said, “They are fooling people with their fake Delhi model. Its bubble will burst like 2017 since they have no agenda.”

Also read: From ‘Only Sikh Can Be CM’ to ‘Why Not a Hindu’: Is Aap Trying to Polarise Punjab Polls?

What makes AAP different this time

Jamshed argued there was a reason why AAP lost in 2017 despite having a similar undercurrent.

First, Punjab voters still perceived Amarinder Singh, the then chief ministerial candidate of Congress, a likeable face due to his decent work as the chief minister in his first term between 2002-2007. He had carefully cultivated his personality as a strong leader by sending the Badals to jail and then terminated the water-sharing agreement with neighbouring Haryana.

“Faith on Amarinder played a huge role in negating AAP’s popularity in 2017. But there is no Amarinder factor this time. Amarinder Singh, who is now in alliance with the BJP, was discredited by his own party last September when he was forced to resign,” he said.

He further said that AAP has not exactly been strong political force in the last few years. In fact, the party has been in a major crisis ever since the last polls. First, half of its MLAs deserted the party. Second, there has been no change in the party’s leadership except that Bhagwant Mann was made the chief ministerial candidate – an obvious decision considering that he was the party’s most famous face in 2017 too. AAP is basically thriving upon the negative votes against traditional parties, he said.

“If people will vote for AAP, it is because of their unhappiness with the Congress and Akali Dal. Even BJP and Amarinder Singh, too, fall in the same category,” he added.

“We have a group of retired political science teachers and scholars who did a survey in some selected constituencies across Punjab where it was found that the impact of AAP in the past was confined only to the Malwa region, which is now seen in Majha and Doaba too. If it stays like this, Punjab will be heading for a change,” he said.

Malwa is the largest political region of Punjab, with 69 out of 117 seats coming from 15 districts, while remaining 25 and 23 from Doaba and Majha areas.

Treading cautiously

When AAP was barely two years old, it shocked both Congress and Akali Dal when four of its candidates became members of parliament in the 2014 general election, all from Malwa region.

In the 2017 assembly polls, it came as a cropper but still managed to win 20 MLAs, 18 of them again came from the Malwa region that was once the stronghold of the Akalis.

Since then, seven of its MLAs have joined Congress while three left the party.

The party had a very poor performance in the 2021 civic body polls, registering a mere 3% vote share against 24% vote share it had in 2014 general elections.

Yet, many feel that AAP has an advantage as it does not carry with it the baggage of unresolved issues and corruption charges that traditional parties face right now.

Political analyst Jagroop Singh Sekhon said that this is precisely the reason why AAP is centering its whole focus in one sentence: “Ek Moka AAP Nu (Give an opportunity to AAP)”.

In 2017, AAP’s fiddling with Sikh extremists went against the party. The other reason was Captain Amarinder’s popularity. It was followed by the Bhatinda blast, days before voting and there was a change in the whole election narrative, he said.

However, this time AAP is better placed and cautious too of not committing any blunder, he said.

“AAP is still unable to clear their stand on several unsolved issues like the water-sharing agreement. The latest is the release of Sikh prisoner where Delhi’s AAP government is also one of the parties in the case of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a death convict in the 1993 Delhi bomb blast case. Yet, it is still in reckoning mainly due to its disenchantment against traditional parties,” he said.

To say that the game is lost for traditional parties is not entirely true. The impact of Channi as the chief ministerial candidate is not being entirely negated, even though AAP is aggressively targeting him over his alleged involvement in illegal sand mining after the arrest of his nephew.

Another factor that is often spoken about in private talks is how Congress and the Akali Dal-BJP alliance ganged up together to stop AAP in 2017.

Congress state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu spoke numerous times on how Amarinder and the Akalis had a tactical understanding ever since the beginning of the Congress government.

Jamshed Khan believes that while it is difficult to have a similar pact this time, since the current Congress leadership is different, there are already talks in political circles on some hidden tactical understanding between the Akali Dal and the BJP-led alliance in order to sabotage AAP’s chances. Only time will tell if such hidden pacts bear fruit like last time or if people remain swayed by anger against traditional political parties, he added.

Watch | Election Bulletin: Congress Fields Channi From Two Seats, BJP MLA Joins Congress in Manipur

In this episode of The Wire Election Bulletin, we bring to you the latest updates related to the 2022 assembly elections.

In this episode of The Wire Election Bulletin, we bring to you the latest updates related to the 2022 assembly elections. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA P. Saratchandra joined the Congress, a day after he quit the saffron camp, having failed to secure a ticket for Manipur assembly polls. As per reports, Saratchandra, who represents Moirang seat, accused the BJP of favouring newcomers to old-timers.

BSP supremo Mayawati hit out at the BJP, Samajwadi Party and Congress for not doing enough for Dalits as she launched her campaign for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls with a rally in Agra.

In Punjab, the Congress has fielded chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi from two seats – Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur. Channi has been representing the Chamkaur Sahib constituency since 2007.

Amarinder Singh Is at a Crossroads. Will the People of Patiala Still Back Their ‘Maharaja’?

The former chief minister’s family, once the royals of Patiala, still wields significant influence in the region.

Chandigarh: Among all the major princely states of Punjab, Patiala royalty, which was richest as well as the most influential, was the only one to enter politics after independence. The city that Sidhu clan chieftain Ala Singh founded  in 1763 always supported its royals after they decided to drift into electoral politics in the 1960s.

Their dynasty was set up by Baba Phul Singh in Jaisalmer in the late 16th century, before they moved to Bathinda in Punjab and then finally settled in Patiala.

Captain Amarinder Singh, still carrying his family’s royal as well as political legacy, has again filed his nomination from the Patiala (Urban) constituency for the February 20 polls. Last time, when he contested here as the Congress’s chief ministerial candidate, he won the constituency hands down.

Now the two-time chief minister is at a crossroads in his 50-year political career, which began right here in 1970. After his unceremonious exit from the Congress last November, he formed his own political party, the Punjab Lok Congress, that now is hell bent on defeating the Congress in alliance with the BJP.

It is therefore not surprising he chose the constituency he had full faith in. Amarinder won four consecutive terms from here between 2002 and 2017, and is now trying his luck for another term.

The princely state of Patiala no longer exists, and even titles had been abolished in 1971, but in the local public, and even in the media, Amarinder is still referred to as the ‘Maharaja of Patiala’.

Also read: Punjab Polls: As Congress Likely to Name Channi as CM Face, Governor, ED Take Aim

He is also the longest surviving dynast. Most rulers of Patiala died in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Only Baba Ala Singh, the city’s founder on whose name Patiala was named too, lived for 74 years. Amarinder, now 79, still has the energy to fight another battle, even though his rivals including his former Congress colleagues have discredited him for surrendering governance in his second tenure as chief minister.

Congress removed him from the chief minister’s post last September, after internal revolt against him for the lack of action on sacrilege and drug issues, two major planks that helped him win the 2017 elections.

He was also accused of his failure to break the sand mafia and liquor nexus. While he said in one of his recent interviews that it was his mistake not to act on his ministers and MLAs involved in illegal sand mining, Amarinder in a statement released after filing the nomination in Patiala claimed that his government had fought hard, right up to the Supreme Court, to get the sacrilege cases back from the CBI, leading to 19 officers, including ex-DGP Sumedh Saini, being booked.

As for the drug cases, he declared that it was his government that successfully broke the backbone of the drug mafia, leading to the arrest of more than 40,000, including many big fish. “But it would be naïve to believe that drugs can be completely wiped out anywhere in the world, and more so in a border state like Punjab where Pakistan was pushing in drugs almost every day,” he added.

Announcing that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah will be coming to Punjab soon to campaign for the PLC-BJP-SAD Sanyukt coalition, Captain Amarinder said the alliance had been crafted in the interest of Punjab and the country.

“The state, with its economy in total shambles, was at a crossroads and needed the Centre’s support to go ahead,” he stressed, adding that Punjab added debt of Rs 70,000 crore in his 4.5-year tenure as chief minister, while Charanjit Singh Channi added another Rs 33,000 crore in just 111 days.

Captain’s political journey

Amarinder’s parents, who had close ties with the Congress, were the first to enter politics from the family. Mohinder Kaur, Amarinder’s mother, was first nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1962 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Then his father, Yadavindra Singh, drifted into electoral politics when he fought the Punjab assembly polls in 1967 from Dakala, a small town adjacent to Patiala that also housed their family house Moti Bagh. In the same year, his mother too was elected MP from the Patiala parliamentary constituency in the 1967 general elections.

Yadavindra, however, did not think politics was his cup of tea and left for the Netherlands as ambassador while Amarinder, who was then a commissioned officer in the Indian Army, left the job in 1968 and stepped into his father’s shoes. He fought his first election unsuccessfully from his father’s old constituency, Dakala, in the 1970 assembly by-poll after then MLA Basant Singh of the Swatantra Party was gunned down by Naxals.

Also read: BJP Fields Two National Panel Chiefs in Punjab Despite State Law Disallowing it

He stayed away for some time then, before he fought the 1977 general elections on a Congress ticket from the Patiala parliamentary seat that his mother occupied earlier, but lost to Akali stalwart Gurcharan Singh Tohra.

Amarinder’s first taste of victory came from the Patiala parliamentary seat in the 1980 general election and that was the beginning of his serious political career. In the next two decades, before he became chief minister for the first time in 2002, there were a lot of ups and downs in his career, including leaving the Congress in protest over Operation Blue Star in 1984 and then becoming MLA on a SAD ticket from Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda district.

Later, he was agriculture minister in the Surjit Singh Barala-led Akali government in 1986, but then too resigned on moral grounds after the Barnala government’s controversy over sending the police to the Golden Temple complex.

After some time, he formed his own party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthic) and won three seats in the 1992 assembly polls including his own in Samana near Patiala that went uncontested as the Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD did not fight these elections.

Later, Amarinder merged his party with the Badals but he fell out with the Akali Dal and rejoined the Congress after Badal denied him a ticket in the 1997 assembly elections.

Once he became state Congress chief in 1999, he began focusing on the Patiala constituency, which after delimitation had extended till Dakala that his father once held.

Under his command, the Congress won the assembly polls in 2002 and this was how he became chief minister. In his first term, he made life miserable for the Badal family after opening several vigilance inquiries against them. He rose to prominence after he revoked the water-sharing agreement with neighbouring Haryana.

That is why he got anti-Badal votes and gave Congress another election victory in the 2017 polls, when the Badals became unpopular for a number of reasons after their 10-year rule.

But he is back to his old uncertain days in politics, except that he has tied up with a national party this time and hopes to stay relevant after the 2022 polls.

No heavyweight in fray against him

In 2017, Amarinder won from Patiala by a record margin of 52,000 votes. In a city where he and his family still wield influence, there is no heavyweight in fray against him this time.

Another advantage Amarinder has here is that the city has a sizeable Hindu population. After an alliance with BJP, he hopes to get considerable support from his alliance partner’s voter base.

His rivals, however, are targeting Amarinder for his failure as Punjab chief minister. In order to cut the Hindu votes, both Akali Dal and Congress have fielded Hindu faces.

SAD’s candidate is young Harpal Juneja, a first-timer. His father Bhagwan Dass Juneja had earlier lost Patiala to Amarinder’s wife Preneet Kaur in the parliamentary election.

Also read: In Punjab Elections, the Sidhu Versus Majithia Clash Promises to Be Intense

On the other hand, Congress has fielded Vishu Sharma, former mayor of Patiala. Sharma had quit Congress due to differences with Amarinder but he rejoined the party after the former chief minister’s exit.

AAP has fielded former Akali leader Ajit Pal Kohli, who recently defected to the party.

Waterlogging is among the major issues in this constituency. But Amarinder claimed that several new projects began under his tenure. For instance, a new bus stand is under construction.

He recently criticised Channi government after media reports highlighted that several projects that he started in his tenure including setting up a heritage street, multi-crore canal-based water supply project, rejuvenation of seasonal Chhoti Nadi and Badi Nadi, dairy shifting project and renovation of Rajindra Lake have been stuck after his exit from the Congress. He promised to ensure their completion at the earliest if voted in again.

Punjab: At 94, Parkash Singh Badal Is Contesting Again to Boost SAD’s Poll Prospects

By fielding Parkash again, it appears that SAD is still banking upon his legacy to overcome electoral losses of the 2017 polls.

Chandigarh: Parkash Singh Badal, patron of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), was first elected sarpanch of Badal village, then in Bathinda district, when India became free in 1947.

The word ‘Badal’ would later come to be etched permanently in the history of Punjabi politics, with Parkash, then 29 years old, never looking back.

One of the few surviving politicians of that era, Badal, now 94, is in the electoral fray for a record 13th time from Lambi constituency in Muktsar district, which he has been winning since 1997.

Due to his age, it was uncertain whether Parkash would fight these elections; he had been saying for some time that his mind was not made up. He was not in action during the 2019 parliamentary polls. In fact his son and successor, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has already been declared party’s chief ministerial face for the 2022 polls.

By fielding Parkash again , it appears that SAD is still banking upon his legacy to overcome electoral losses of the 2017 polls, when the party was reduced to mere 15 seats in the 117-member state assembly, the lowest ever tally for the over-100-year-old party of Punjab.

Senior journalist Jagtar Singh told The Wire that Parkash had himself conveyed a few times in the recent past that his inning in politics were over. The plausible reason why he has been brought back is to push the party’s poll campaign.

Jagtar said the party is in a do-or-die situation after a massive defeat in the 2017 elections. Every seat is crucial in the ongoing polls. “With senior Badal in the fray, the party feels that the whole cadre will feel motivated and charged,” he said.

In politics for the last 75 years, Parkash has been unassailable barring one election in 1967 – when too he lost by just 57 votes.

Badal first entered the Punjab assembly in 1957 from the Malout constituency (another city in Muktsar district) on a Congress ticket. Later, he became part of the Akali Dal and became a pivotal figure in anti-Congress politics in Punjab.

Also read: Fight For Punjab’s Moga Seat Heats Up As Sonu Sood Campaigns for Sister Malvika

He went on to become chief minister five times after the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, a record that he still holds apart from winning assembly elections again for a record 11 times. After Malout, Badal shifted his base to the nearby Gidderbaha constituency, which he won five out of six times between 1967 and 1985.

The state polls after 1985 were held in 1992, which the Akali Dal had boycotted in protest against the Congress government at the Centre for not fulfilling longstanding demands made by Sikhs.

Badal shifted to Lambi in the 1997 assembly polls – and has not lost from here since. Lambi is a small rural constituency of 71 villages. Badal village falls in the same constituency. Although Parkash was born in 1927 in the village Abul Khurana near Malout, Badal became his permanent home.

He has a big mansion in the village. It is from here he that has now been managing his election and meeting party supporters.

Parkash was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. He has recovered now and is in stable health.

According to media reports, after SAD announced his candidature on Wednesday, party workers inaugurated a poll office at Lambi village and organised a Sukhmani Sahib path to pray for his victory.

Less feisty contest

In 2017, when Amarinder Singh of the Congress confronted Parkash in Lambi, it was projected as the mother of all battles. Later, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also fielded Jarnail Singh, the former journalist-turned-politician who gained popularity for hurling a shoe at then Union home minister P. Chidambaram in 2009 over Congress leaders being given a clean chit in the 1984 pogrom.

Despite a feisty contest, Badal proved his mettle. He defeated Amarinder, who later became the Punjab chief minister, with over 24,000 votes.

This time there is no heavy weight in the poll fray against Parkash. AAP has fielded former Congress leader Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, while Congress’s nominee, Jagpal Singh Abul Khurana, is a newcomer. The BJP-Punjab Lok Congress has made Rakesh Dhingra its candidate from Lambi, another a newcomer.

Khuddian told The Wire that Punjab will deliver a political change this time. Badal has remained the chief minister for five terms but he could not give good schools to the people of his own constituency, forget about the whole of the state, the AAP candidate alleged. “Where are the affordable and quality health services here or elsewhere? Badal was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and he received his treatment at a private hospital in Ludhiana. Why is there no big medical institute anywhere in Punjab like PGI in Chandigarh?”

He said unemployment in Punjab is at an all-time high, but did Parkash ever focus on generating employment? People have now realised that traditional parties have just used them for their vote bank. They are looking for a change this time from old politicians and old political parties, he added.

“AAP will improve education and health services once our party forms the government in Punjab, ” said Khuddian.

Also read: In Punjab Elections, the Sidhu Versus Majithia Clash Promises to Be Intense

On the other hand, Parkash has already made one around the constituency, holding public meetings in all 71 villages.

Local SAD leader Ranjodh Dhaliwal told The Wire that the AAP candidate is spreading lies. “Badals have made a huge contribution to developing civic infrastructure, not only in Lambi but the whole of Punjab. The AAP candidate is a turncoat who came from Congress, which ran a completely hollow government in the last five years.”

Dhaliwal said many senior leaders will also come here to campaign for Parkash. Abhay Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal is expected on February 2. The Chautala family has had close personal ties with the Badals.

Apart from the Akali Dal cadre, Harsimrat Badal has also been visiting villages in Lambi on a regular basis to campaign for her father-in-law. Her son, Anantbir Singh Badal, has also been seen at many social functions since the first week of January.

In a meeting last month in Lambi, Harsimrat told the crowds, “When SAD-BSP comes to power, Sukhbir Badal will be your CM but Badal Sahab will be your ‘super CM’. He keeps on saying that now health does not allow him, age factor is also there. But you all convince him, you can make him win elections even if he sits at home. He has served this area as a sewadar for decades.”

With AAP’s CM Face Contesting From Dhuri, the Quaint Punjab Town Is Thrust into Limelight

In Bhagwant Mann’s electoral victories in the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections, he secured substantial leads in the Dhuri segment. No doubt this influenced AAP’s decision to field him from this constituency in the upcoming assembly polls.

Chandigarh: Dhuri, a sleepy town in Punjab’s Sangrur district, has become the star of the upcoming assembly polls in the state after the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann entered the fray from there.

In the previous polls, the seats of Patiala and Lambi – from where former chief ministers Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal had contested respectively – were the usual hot seats. However, with Mann’s entry, the hitherto politically alienated Dhuri (no MLA from this constituency has ever been made a minister in any government) has stepped into the limelight.

Mann officially kicked off his party’s campaign trail from his new constituency on Sunday, January 23, where he was welcomed by a huge crowd of people who put garlands across his neck as his cavalcade passed through several parts of Dhuri.

“It is not my election, it’s yours,” Mann said to the crowd swelling around his vehicle. Then, standing on the bonnet of his car, he told the crowd: “Politicians in Punjab made castles, bought expensive cars, earned crores in the sand and liquor mafias. The time has come to pack them home.”

Mann, who was a satirist before he entered politics, cheered his crowd on, saying, “Hakoomat vo karata hai jinke dilon pe raaj hota hai. Kahne ko to murge ke sar pe bhi taaj hota hai (The real ruler is the one who wins the hearts of the people. Otherwise, even a chicken can have crown on its head.)

Dhuri is among the nine assembly segments within the Sangrur parliamentary constituency which Mann has been representing as Member of Parliament (MP) since 2014.

In the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections, Mann had secured leads of 34,000 and 24,000 votes respectively from the Dhuri segment; a fact which, no doubt weighed heavily on the AAP’s decision to field him from there since they considered it a ‘safe’ seat for him. Moreover, Mann has local connections here. Dhuri is not far from Satoj village, where Mann was born.

In the 2017 assembly polls in the state, Mann had contested unsuccessfully from Jalalabad in the Fazilka district against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) heavyweight Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Mann’s candidature from Dhuri, meanwhile, has upset local party leader Ashok Kumar Lakha, who was expecting a ticket from here. However, Mann even went to Lakha’s home to pacify him.

Watch: Will AAP Be Able to Form a Government in Punjab? A Conversation With Sanjay Singh

AAP lost Dhuri to Congress in 2017

In the last assembly polls, AAP candidate Jasvir Singh Jassi Sekhon lost the Dhuri seat to Congress first-timer, student leader Dalvir Singh Goldy, by the narrow margin of 2,800 votes (2%).

AAP’s Sangrur district president Gurmail Singh told The Wire that with the kind of overwhelming response Mann got on his first visit, there is no doubt that the party would win the Dhuri seat by a heavy margin of 50,000 votes, or even higher.

All party leaders in region, be it 2017 candidate Sekhon or local party leader Lakha, are working passionately behind Mann. “Not only this, Mann’s candidature from Dhuri will boost the party’s chances in the entire Malwa region,” said Gurmail.

Malwa is Punjab’s biggest region in the polls, accounting for 69 (58%) of the total 117 assembly segments.

In its debut election in 2017, AAP had managed to break into the SAD’s traditional rural vote bank in Malwa, winning 18 seats. However, from Punjab’s Doaba (which has 25 seats) and Majha (which has 23) regions, the party managed to win only two seats.

Reacting to AAP’s prediction of an unprecedented victory to come, Goldy, the present Congress MLA from Dhuri told The Wire, “Only the result will tell who wins with 50,000 votes or more.” He further said that he is confident of a win again because of his work in the constituency over the last five years.

However, in his speech on Sunday, Mann alleged that Goldy had a share in the toll plazas. Even the interlock tiles which Goldy claimed to have laid down in cities and villages came from his own factory, which he set up after becoming an MLA, Mann further alleged.

“Look at me. I had the same vehicle when I came to Dhuri for canvassing in 2014, 2017 and then 2019 while he (Goldy) made hay in sunshine,” Mann claimed.

Goldy, on the other hand, dismissed Mann’s allegations in an interview for Punjabi portal Pro Punjab TV and even alleged that Mann had ignored Dhuri despite representing the constituency twice as MP. He even challenged Mann to a debate.

On Saturday, Goldy’s wife Simrat Kaur Khangura was met with protests from farmers in the Balian village in the Dhuri constituency while she was out campaigning for her husband. The villagers, holding BKU Dakaunda flags, stopped Khangura, saying that SAD and Congress candidates would not be allowed to enter their village.

Subsequently, Khangura, in a Facebook Live video, alleged that the men holding the farmers’ union flags were actually AAP supporters.

Also read: Punjab: Congress Plays Safe, Repeats 60 Sitting MLAs in First List of 86 Candidates

Residents say key issues remain unsolved

As this high voltage fight takes place, the people of Dhuri say they are disappointed that several key issues have lingered for years and that no one has addressed them.

Dr Ranjeet Singh Bhullar, a local medical professional, told The Wire that Dhuri has been the major railway junction for a long time. Due to this, a major railway crossing goes within the city and for the last 20 years, residents have been demanding a railway underbridge, since there are often long traffic jams at the crossing. However, no one was addressed this problem, he said.

Bhullar further said there is no proper bus stand in the city and that people are forced to board buses from a small stoppage point.

Bhullar also said that medical facilities in Dhuri are poor. “The local civil hospital lacks doctors. The diagnostic facilities are also poor. Dhuri residents travel 17 km to Sangrur for a CT-scan or ultrasound. There is also no specialist to handle accident or head injury cases. The patients are taken to Ludhiana, over 60 km from here,” said Bhullar.

Gurpreet Singh Batth, who runs local NGO Parivartan, told The Wire that Dhuri is in need of a library for students preparing for competitive exams. Presently, they either shift their base to Patiala or Chandigarh while preparing.

“Another major problem in Dhuri is waterlogging. The local MLA claimed to lay new sewage lines, but the problem remains unsolved,”  he said.

The Wire talked to a few more locals, including a teacher who feels that Dhuri, unlike Sangrur, has remained politically irrelevant because it has never had a minister in any government. With Mann, AAP’s CM face, contesting from here, they hope the town would be given some prominence, should he emerge victorious.

“It was therefore not surprising when people came out of their shops and homes to see Mann when he came here to campaign on Sunday,” said a government teacher, not wishing to be named. He said that no politician earlier had touched upon the issue of Punjab’s youth settling abroad or plunging into drugs. “People have high hopes from Mann to address the perennial issues of Punjab as well as this city,” he said.

AAP leaders are looking for a rented accommodation for Mann in Dhuri. Gurmail told The Wire that earlier, Mann had a base in Sangrur but he will shift to Dhuri soon.

Meanwhile, vote turnout in Dhuri has been impressive. In the 2017 assembly polls, 81% of the total electorate came out to vote. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls too, vote polling was impressive at 76%.

With Mann in the race, the vote percentage may go even higher.

In Dhuri, the main fight is said to be between AAP and the Congress, even as the SAD has given a ticket to former Sangrur MLA Parkash Chand Garg.

The constituency is a mixture of both urban and rural segments, housing 80 villages besides a large city area.

ED May Arrest Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain Before Punjab Polls, Says Arvind Kejriwal

The AAP convenor said he has learnt as much from sources and that party leaders and workers do not fear these agencies as they have done nothing wrong.

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, January 23, said he has been informed by sources that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) may arrest his cabinet minister Satyendar Jain just before assembly elections in Punjab.

Kejriwal added that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers do not fear these agencies as they have done nothing wrong.

“From our sources we have got to know that right before Punjab polls in the coming few days the ED is going to arrest Satyendar Jain (Delhi’s health and home minister). They are most welcome. Previously too, the Union government had conducted raids at Satyendar Jain but got nothing,” Kejriwal said in a virtual press conference in the national capital.

He alleged that whenever the BJP realises that it is losing, it unleashes all the central agencies on its opponents.

“Since there are elections, raids and arrests will be made. We do not fear such raids and arrests because we have done nothing wrong,” Kejriwal said.

He also said that previously raids were conducted at his premise, his deputy Manish Sisodia’s premises, Jain’s residence and also AAP’s 21 MLAs were arrested but they got nothing.

Kejriwal’s announcement comes days after the ED raided and claimed to have seized vast amounts of cash from the residence of Punjab chief minister and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew, Bhupinder Singh.

Punjab goes to polls on February 20.

Polls are also scheduled in Uttar Pradesh, where officials of the Income Tax department conducted raids at the houses of two Samajwadi Party leaders and the aide of party chief Akhilesh Yadav in December 2021.