Punjab assembly polls: In Patiala Urban, Captain Amarinder Singh to face two ex-mayors
From Patiala Urban, former CM Captain Amarinder Singh is going to face two ex-mayors of Patiala city, Congress’ Vishnu Sharma and AAP’s Ajitpal Singh Kohli, in the Punjab assembly polls
A political slugfest has started between a former chief minister, former mayors and ex-municipal corporation councillors in the Patiala urban and rural segments.
From Patiala urban, former CM Captain Amarinder Singh, who filed his nomination papers as Punjab Lok Congress candidate on Monday, is going to face two ex-mayors of Patiala city, Congress’ Vishnu Sharma and Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Ajitpal Singh Kohli, and SAD’s Harpal Juneja, who was an ex-councillor of the Patiala municipal corporation.
Congress candidate Sharma, who once remained a close associate of Captain Amarinder, rejoined the Congress two weeks ago. During Amarinder’s stint as the CM from 2002-2007, Sharma remained Patiala mayor and enjoyed his patronage.
However, before the 2014 parliamentary polls, Sharma switched his loyalties to SAD before rejoining the Congress on January 17.
Meanwhile, the AAP has fielded ex-mayor Kohli, who joined the party fold recently after snapping ties with SAD, as its candidate. Kohli was Patiala mayor from 2007 to 2012.
He and his family had around seven decades of association with the Akali Dal as his father Surjit Singh Kohli, senior vice-president of Akali Dal, was public works department (PWD) minister in 1997. His grandfather Sardara Singh Kohli also represented SAD as an MLA.
SAD candidate Juneja remained municipal councillor from 2012-2017. His father Bhagwan Dass Juneja contested unsuccessfully against Amarinder’s wife Preneet Kaur in 2015 byelections from the Patiala urban segment.
“It is going to be an interesting election but equally tough for every candidate as they are facing different challenges on the ground. With Vishnu Sharma facing time constraints to build up the campaign, Captain Amarinder is experimenting with the new political outfit. For Kohli, overcoming the tag of a turncoat is the key challenge,” said a veteran political leader.
As far as the Patiala rural segment is concerned, incumbent mayor Sanjeev Sharma Bittu is in the fray as the Punjab Lok Congress candidate against SAD’s Jaspal Singh Bittu Chatha, who was a former councillor.
Congress’ Mohit Mohindra, son of local bodies minister Brahm Mohindra, is a first-timer, while AAP has fielded an ophthalmologist Dr Balbir Singh.
It may be mentioned that mayor Sanjeev Sharma and Brahm Mohindra remained at loggerheads after Mohindra recently initiated proceedings to remove Bittu from the post of mayor.