Young MPs: New voices from region
Prabhjot Singh

Navin Jindal: A heady cocktail of business, sports and politics

Kuldip Singh Bishnoi: The son who won

Punjab may be behind Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and even Madhya Pradesh in sending Harvard or Wharton graduates to the 14th Lok Sabha, yet it has taken a lead over other states in this region by electing three first-timers, including a woman.

While the likes of Navin Jindal symbolise the tech-savvy, western-educated breed of young MPs from the region, Navjot Sidhu and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon represent rustic youth power. The foreign-educated new MPs belong mostly to the Congress, while those representing the SAD and BJP in Punjab are largely from rural backgrounds and have been to desi schools.

Former Test cricketer Navjot Sidhu, whose father Bhagwant Singh was a staunch Congressman, contested on the BJP ticket and that too not from his home town of Patiala but Amritsar. Sidhu, who has earned his own brand of popularity for his “cryptic quotes” during cricket commentaries, is a plain graduate. Navjot gave up a senior position in the State Bank of Patiala to join politics.

Navjot says, “It is a great honour for me to be elected to Parliament after 15 days of joining politics. The credit for my triumph goes to the workers and the party. I hope to raise their voice in the House of the People as Amritsar has been ignored for more than 30 years. Uplift of the downtrodden, focus on infrastructure development and overall development of the area would be my priority. I hope to deliver the goods.”

Sharanjit Singh Dhillon: A victory for farmers

Navjot Sidhu: “Amritsar has been ignored for 30 years”

Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, perhaps the oldest among the new MPs from the region, is the President of the Youth Wing of the SAD. A massive rally organised by him at Kila Raipur on the eve of elections got him the ticket and he defeated none other than former All-India Youth Congress chief Manish Tewari and a veteran of Punjab politics Balwant Singh Ramoowalia. He represents the aspirations of Punjab’s rural youth.

Says Dhillon: “People have reposed faith in me. I hope I am able to live up to their expectations and serve them to the best of my abilities. Getting such a wonderful mandate has given me tremendous courage and strength.”

Neighbouring Haryana has sent young Navin Jindal, an industrialist and a sportsman to Parliament. Navin, a tech-savvy corporate, is into equestrian. The Jindals have a vast business empire and his father Om Parkash Jindal, too, has had an innings in politics.

Kuldip Singh Bishnoi, son of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Bhajan Lal, has also made a debut in the Lok Sabha. He defeated two other Chief Ministers’ sons — Surinder Singh (Bansi Lal’s son ) and Ajay Chautala (Om Parkash Chautala’s son).

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