Sons of Governor's face stiff challenge in Punjab polls

Dhuri/Abohar, Feb 9 : The illustrious sons of two Governors face a tough challenge to retain their assembly seats in the Punjab elections.

Gaganjit Singh Barnala, son of Tamil Nadu Governor S S Barnala is the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate, seeking his second consecutive win from Dhuri constituency. The other is Sunil Jakhar, son of Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar, who is also trying to do a repeat of the last assembly elections from Abohar, a constituency once held by his father.

Both the Barnala and Jakhar families have a long association with politics. The elder Barnala has been a chief minister of the state and has also been a Union Minister twice, while the elder Jakhar, has been a minister in the state as well as the Union Government's.

Both are facing problems from within their parties and are involved in tough contests from their respective constituencies.

The high profile Barnala family of Sangrur district is campaigning hard to ensure the victory of Gaganjit, who had been embrolled in a rape case. In the 2002 polls, he had won by a slender margin of 1600 votes.

Though there are 13 candidates in the fray but the contest is four cornered. The main players being Gaganjit, Congress nominee Roop Kaur Bagrian and SAD and Congress rebels-- Iqbal Singh Jhunda and Dhanwant Singh respectively.

Using his influence Mr Surjit Singh Barnala had succeeded in getting many projects sanctioned for his son's constituency-- with a dual railway crossing being the biggest achievement. Gaganjit is claiming a victory of sorts on the ROB front and promising more projects for the constituency.

The Congress candidate Roop Kaur Bagrian, popularly known as Mai Roop Kaur, threw her career in the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) and plunged into the electoral field. She is banking on the party's developmental plank and on women empowerment.

The rape case against Gaganjit is not much of an issue in the constituency, comprising of an electorate of around 1.38 lakh.

However the issue is being used by rival candidates at small corner meetings to woo voters, particularly women.

While two time MLA Dhanwant Singh contesting on the BSP ticket has vast experience behind him, Jhunda is banking on anti-Barnala vote to secure him a win in the election. He has a considerable following in Amargarh area, the other semi urban centre of the constituency.

The going is equally tough for Sunil Jakhar in Abohar, as he has to contend with BJP candidate Ram Kumar, as well as with the disgruntled elements of his party. Besides himself, his father Mr Balram Jakhar and elder brother Sajjan Jakhar have represented the constituency on a number of occasions in the past. Abohar, with an electorate of about 1.73 lakh, has been a traditional stronghold, though the BJP won this seat for the first time in 1997. The constituency bordering Rajasthan and Haryana, has for long been a stronghold of the Jakhar's, with Mr Balram Jakhar even winning comfortably in the Janata Party wave of 1977.

The Congress candidate is banking on the development projects that he had intiated in the segment. In his election rallies he points out that it was his father who brought prosperity to the constituency and introduced drip irrigation for the first time in Punjab.

The BJP candidate cannot be considered a pushover and is banking on the anti-incumbency factor and is going from door-to-door asking for votes. The kinnow orchids and vineyards (grapes) present a picture of prosperity, but the area has no agro industrial units to market these fruits and this is one major issue that is being put forward by the BJP candidate.

UNI