Stalwarts locking horns in Jalandhar

Jalandhar, Feb 9: Several stalwarts, including Punjab Ministers Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Avtar Henry, Amarjit Singh Samra, Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Ms Gurkanwal Kaur and former Ministers Manoranjan Kalia and Ajit Singh Kohar, are locking horns with rivals for making their way to the new assembly from different constituencies in Jalandhar district.

Ruling Congress stalwart Local Self Government Minister, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh is seeking re-election to the state assembly for his sixth term in a row from his traditional Kartarpur(SC) seat.

In all 13 contestants, including Mr Chaudhary(Congress), Avinash Chander(SAD) and Ram Prakash(BSP), are trying their luck from this ruling Congress bastion.

The constituency had returned Chaudhary to the assembly five times since 1980.Despite the changing political equations, it is considered a Congress stronghold. Mr Chaudhary was defeated by Bhagat Singh of Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) in 1977 Janata Party wave .

Chaudhary had won the seat in 1980 and since then succeeded in retaining it in all subsequent elections. In the last elections in 2002 he had defeated Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal (SAD) by over 4000 votes.

This time SAD has fielded Avinash Chander who had contested the seat in 2002 and 1997 on BSP ticket and finished third but later he joined SAD.

Posing a serious challenge before the Congress veteran,is former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who is paying extra attention to this seat and has canvassed in the constituency several times. SAD campaigners are trying to fuel anti-incumbency feeling among the electorate by highlighting issues of rise in prices of essential commodities and projecting Chaudhary as a ''corrupt and casteist leader''.

The opposition party is also trying to encash on Mr Chander's ancestors' familiar ties with Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

However, Congress supporters are banking on Mr Chaudhary's time tested personal rapport with the voters and are projecting the development works initiated in the segment. The SAD nominee is being projected as an outsider.

The BSP is also a force in the constituency, as the party had finished third or second in past three elections. But this time BSP cadres appear to be a divided house and both the SAD and Congress campaigners are trying to exploit this situation.

Another senior member of the Amarinder Singh cabinet, Avtar Henry is seeking his fourth successive term from Jalandhar North assembly segment against BJP corporator K D Bhandhari, Bachan Lal (BSP) and four others. Uma Bharti's , Bharatiya Janshakti Party's candidate Badri Narain Jha and former Prime Minister V P Singh's Jan Morcha nominee Surjit Singh are also in the fray but the main contest is likely to be between Mr Henry and his BJP rival.

In a bid to capitalise on the anti incumbency factor against the ruling Congress, the BJP has fielded a youngster with an eye on the votes of youths. He is contesting his first assembly poll.

Mr Henry denied an anti incumbency factor and claimed he knew his voters personally and had always nursed the constituency. He said in his present five year term he had succeeded in carrying out development works involving an investment of Rs 48 crore.

Congressmen claim their there candidate is a sure winner and in support of their claim they point out former Jalandhar Mayor Suresh Sehgal who had contested the last elections against Henry on a BJP ticket had now joined the Congress.

BJP campaign managers do not see any threat from Sehgal and point out a sitting Congress MLA of the city and its district president Raj Kumar Gupta had joined the BJP.

In Jalandhar South constituency another minister and sitting MLA Mohinder Singh Kaypee is pitted against his traditional rival former BJP MLA Bhagat Chunni Lal.

The constituency which has returned Mr Kaypee and his father late Darshan Singh Kaypee five times since 1977, is known as one of the ruling Congress stronholds. Even in the 1977 strong anti Indira Gandhi wave Mr Kaypee's father, Darshan Singh Kaypee won the seat by over 12,000 votes.

Darshan Singh won the seat again in 1980. After his assassination by terrorists his son Mohinder Singh Kapyee sailing on a sympathy wave, won the 1985 elections by 16,000 votes. He again won in 1992 but was defeated by Bhagat Chunni Lal in 1997. The junior Kaypee recaptured the family bastion defeating Chunni Lal in 2002.

In the ensuing election the situation appears to be difficult for the sitting MLA.Besides the opposition's core issue of price rise, the BJP campaigners are projecting Mr Kaypee as the person behind the demolition drive in the Bhargo Camp area, which has a large dalit population.

Slain Chief Minister Beant Singh's daughter and Minister of State Gurkanwal Kaur is pitted against SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Badal's cousin Jagbir Singh Brar in the Jalandhar Cantt constituency. Although the constituency had always favoured Congress since 1980 assembly elections and the seat has been held by her family in three consecutive elections, the going is tough for her this time.

Her father late Beant Singh himself won the seat in 1992, against Gulzara Ram (BSP) amid a boycott by SAD. Later in 1997 the seat was held by her brother Tej Prakash and in the last elections in 2002 she won the seat, as her brother Tej Prakash was shifted to Payal.

But this time Ms Kaur is locked in a keen neck-and-neck battle with SAD new face Brar who had been working among the people in the area in a systematic manner for past about three years. Besides SAD supremo Badal and his nephew Manpreet Badal have also put their weight behind Mr Brar to make the situation difficult for the incumbent MLA highlighting ''her failures'' in nursing her constituency. Mr Brar is projecting poor civic facilities in newly developed colonies in the area and promising early revocation of octroi from the Cantt area.

Besides this, a rebel Congress contestant Anil Dutta is also out to vitiate the atmosphere for the ruling party.

Ms Kaur is confident of her prospects and said that she knows her voters who would definitely ensure her victory.

If Ms Kaur wins then she would break the jinx by retaining the seat as the constituency had a bad record of not repeating its MLA. In Nakodar, Punjab Minister Amarjit Singh Samra is involved in A keen contest with SAD old guard Kuldip Singh Wadala, CPI's Gurdial Singh, BSP's MP Singh Goraya and two others. Mr Samra is trying his luck for his third successive term while Mr Wadala, Akali old guard, had held the seat once in 1985. This was the only occasion when SAD had won the seat and after that the party is waiting to repeat the feat.

In Jalandhar Central BJP, former state president and former Minister Manoranjan Kalia is again trying his luck against Congress nominee and Jalandhar Urban Improvement Trust Chairman Tajinder Singh Bittu and local industrialist Sheetal Vij (Ind). Kalia supporters are in an upbeat mood after the recent entry of Congress sitting MLA and ruling party district president Raj Kumar Gupta, into the BJP fold.

Congress campaigners believed this advantage would be neutralised by independent Vij's presence in the fray.

Another SAD stalwart former minister Ajit Singh Kohar is making a bid to retain his Lohian seat for his third term against ruling Congress C D Singh Kamboj and six others.

UNI