lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Mar 11, 2019 14:55 IST

The Congress party in Maur assembly segment of the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab is witnessing a parallel show of strength among local leaders.

The issue is important as the segment saw a close contest in the 2014 general elections, with Congress candidate Manpreet Singh Badal lagging behind Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal by 1,776 votes.

Two Congress leaders and an expelled member of the party have held their respective shows of strength over the past week in the segment, at almost the same time.

On March 3, former minister Harminder Singh Jassi, who unsuccessfully contested the assembly election from the segment in 2017 held a rally in the town to highlight the state government’s achievements.

However, block president Rajinder Singh and Block Youth Congress president, Sukhdeep Singh, took part in parallel protests by Maur bomb blasts victims against Jassi. The blasts that claimed seven lives, including five children, had taken place on the evening of January 31, 2017, shortly after the poll rally of Jassi, who had a narrow escape.

The protesters accused Jassi of failing to get justice for the blast victims and not taking up their demands effectively with the state government.

Closely following these rallies, another Congress leader, Bhupinder Singh Gora, on Saturday held a road show in 17 villages in the segment.

Gora, who is a relative of Jassi, has been his strong opponent; he had joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) before the 2017 assembly polls after the Congress denied him ticket from the segment.

He, later, joined back the Congress and applied for a ticket from the Lok Sabha elections from the segment.

Other Congress leaders, including the block president, Rajinder and Maur town unit president joined him in the road show.

Sukhraj Singh Natt, who was expelled from the party for contesting as an Independent in the 2017 assembly polls after being denied a party ticket, also held a rally in the town to exhibit his support base.

“I am not a Congress member now, but my rally was aimed at making party workers of the segment feel strengthened as people from outside have been allotted party tickets in the past two assembly polls. Workers have opposed it,” he said.

When questioned on the parallel rallies, district Congress Committee (rural) president Khushbaaz Singh Jatana said, “Leaders holding different events is not serious. Everybody will follow the party’s decision, once the candidate for Lok Sabha polls from the segment is announced. We will work to ensure a lead for the party from the Maur assembly constituency.”