Jalandhar district have been declared sensitive constituencies

 

Jalandhar, January 29 Doaba, with 23 seats, has been a Congress stronghold. But in the 2007 elections, this region threw its weight behind the SAD-BJP alliance. It remains to be seen whether the ruling alliance will do as well this time too.

Key contest: Among the heavyweights in the fray in Doaba are Chaudhary Jagjit Singh of (Cong-Kartarpur), Amarjit Samra (Cong-Nakodar), Manoranjan Kalia (BJP-Jalandhar Central), Tikshan Sud (BJP-Hoshiarpur City), Bibi Jagir Kaur (SAD-Bholath), Sukhpal Khaira (Cong- Bholath), Avtar Henry (Cong-Jalandhar North), Pargat Singh (Jalandhar-Cantt) and Jagbir Brar.

Kartarpur will see an interesting fight between Congress and SAD heavyweights Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and Sarwan Singh Phillaur, respectively. Swapping of candidates in Phillaur and Kartarpur may prove costly for the SAD.

In Bholath (Kapurthala district), all eyes are on former SGPC chief and SAD candidate Bibi Jagir Kaur and her young Congress rival Sukhpal Khaira. Here caste factor will be crucial. Khaira had wrested the seat from Bibi in 2007 despite the SAD-BJP wave in Doaba. Bibi is a Lobana by caste and Khaira a Jat Sikh. Of the total 1,18,512 voters, as many as 39,176 are Jat Sikhs.

Former Jalandhar MP and Congress’ Rana Gurjit Singh, known for his poll management skills, is locked in a tough battle with SAD’s Sarbjit Makkar. Three-time MLA and Congress candidate Amarjit Samra is pitted against SAD’s Gurpartap Singh Wadala in Nakodar. Samra is a poll veteran who retained his seat in 2007, despite the anti-Congress wave. Wadala’s father SGPC member Kuldip Singh Wadala is a well-known figure in the area.

In Hoshiarpur City, there is a direct fight between BJP heavyweight Tikshan Sud and his Congress rival Sham Sunder Arora, a former DCC president. Sud has won the constituency three times in a row.

Arora had contested in 2002 as an Indpedendent. In Mukerian, there is a triangular contest among Congress’ Ajit Narang, a first-timer, BJP leader Arunesh Shakar and Independent Rajnish Babbi, son of late Vidhan Sabha speaker Dr Kewal Krishan. In Dasuya, BJP MLA Amarjit Singh Sahi faces Congress veteran Ramesh Dogra. In Chabbewal, Dr Raj Kumar of the Congress, Sohan Singh Thandal of the SAD and Dr Dilbag Rai, an Independent are in the fray. Unemployment, bad roads and poor state of Kandi areas were the key issues here. In Nawanshahar, the contest is among Satinder Kaur Kariha of the SAD, Guriqbal Kaur of the Congress and PPP’s Abhey Singh Sandhu.

Rebels: Turncoat Jagbir Brar, who had defeated late Beant Singh’s daughter and former minister Gurkanwal Kaur as the SAD candidate in 2007, is believed to have been hand-picked by PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh after he bade goodbye to the People’s Party of Punjab. On the other hand, former Jalandhar DCC president Rajinder Singh Johal, who was denied the Congress ticket, is contesting as a PPP candidate.

Key issues: Development, unemployment and drug addiction are the key issues in Doaba. Dalit votes (about 46 per cent) can tilt the scales either in favour of the Congress or the SAD-BJP alliance in the region. All political parties have gone overboard to win this section of voters. Dera Sach Khand, headed by Baba Niranjan Dass in Ballan village, has considerable influence over the Dalits in Kartarpur, Adampur, Jalandhar South and Nakodar. A majority of Dalit voters in these constituencies are dera followers. The Radhasoami sect, the Damdami Taksal at Sarmastpur and Sant Baba Murale Wale at Begowal command a vast following in the rural areas of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala districts.

Sensitive Booths: As many as 211 polling booths in nine constituencies of Jalandhar district have been declared sensitive. Of these, 104 have been declared sensitive while and 107 ultra-sensitive.