Battle of ‘outsiders’ in Khadoor Sahib

Amritsar, April 7

Following the announcement of former Beas MLA Jasbir Singh Dimpa as Congress candidate from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency, a keen contest is in the offing for this Panthic seat.
The candidates of major political parties are all “outsiders”. The SAD has fielded Bibi Jagir Kaur, former SGPC president, who hails from Begowal village in Kapurthala district. The newly floated SAD (Taksali) has fielded General JJ Singh (retd), who comes from Patiala. He had unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly election against Capt Amarinder Singh.

Another new political group, Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA), led by Sukhpal Khaira, has fielded Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the widow of Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. She hails from Tarn Taran’s Khalra village and is presently a resident of Amritsar’s Kabir Park area.
Dimpa hails from Liddar village, near Rayya in Beas, which now falls in the Khadoor Sahib constituency.

Dimpa, who was hopeful of getting the ticket, has been holding meetings with party workers and visiting people in the constituency for the last more than two months. He has taken a house on rent at the local Baba Basta Singh Colony.

Dimpa (58) has done Giani, a postgraduate Punjabi language course, from GNDU, Amritsar. He was elected MLA from Beas in 2002. The Congress seems to have an edge as it is for the first time since 1977 that the party has MLAs on all nine Vidhan Sabha segments under the Khadoor Sahib constituency (previously Tarn Taran).