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New Delhi, September 18
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the nominee for the upcoming Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelection, amid indications of Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar being the front runner.
Jakhar, 63, is said to have been named as an acceptable candidate by the majority of Congress’ seven legislators from Gurdaspur. He also has Amarinder Singh’s backing.
The names of Jakhar and other probable candidates, including former Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa and his wife Charanjit Kaur Bajwa, ex-Qadian MLA, yesterday figured in the discussions held at a meeting between Congress in charge for Punjab Asha Kumari, CM Amarinder Singh and Jakhar at Singh’s official Delhi residence.
Asha Kumari will also meet Sonia Gandhi to give final shape to nomination discussions. Indications are the party will go by Amarinder Singh’s suggestion for the candidate.
Jakhar, it is learnt, can bring warring Gurdaspur Congress factions together to contest the October 11 byelection necessitated due to the demise of BJP MP Vinod Khanna.
Being a Hindu, a senior former MLA and state chief, Jakhar, leaders feel, can pull varied voter sections towards the Congress. Gurdaspur has 46.74 per cent Hindu population and 43.64 per cent Sikhs.
Historically, Gurdasur parliamentary segment has been a Congress stronghold. Out of 16 Lok Sabha elections, Congress candidates have been elected from here on 11 occasions. These are Teja Singh Akarpuri (1952), Diwan Chand Sharma (1957, 1962), Prabodh Chandra (1967, 1971), Sukhbans Kaur (five term MP from 1980 to 1996) and Partap Bajwa (2009).
Gurdaspur first went out of the Congress control post-Emergency when Janata Party’s YD Sharma was returned to the Lok Sabha from here in 1977.
Actor-politician Vinod Khanna later held the segment for BJP in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014 until his demise earlier this year. Out of 16 elections, Gurdaspur has returned Sikh MPs to the Lok Sabha seven times and Hindu candidates nine times.
