J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

Fearing Lodhinangal factor, BJP revamps Batala unit
Replaces old guard with young faces, adjusts former presidents as special invitees
Batala, July 23
With Batala SAD Halqa in-charge Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal trying everything to drive wedge in the BJP rank and the file, the saffron party has hit back by revamping its district unit, replacing the old guard with young faces in an attempt to counter the Akali leader’s political onslaught.

Grandson held for murder
Phagwara, July 23
The Goraya Police has solved the murder case of Raj Kumari (76) of Ambala, who was found murdered at her parental house in Bundhala village on July 17 morning. SP (D) Rajinder Singh said the police has arrested the grandson of the deceased, Rakesh Kumar, under Section 302/34 of the IPC. Another accused in the case, Gautam of Pinjore, is still at large. The SP said Rakesh had confessed to his crime and told the police that his maternal uncle had a quarrel with his father Kamal Dev and he took this extreme step to take revenge of the insult of his father.

Fearing Lodhinangal factor, BJP revamps Batala unit
Replaces old guard with young faces, adjusts former presidents as special invitees
Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Batala, July 23
With Batala SAD Halqa in-charge Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal trying everything to drive wedge in the BJP rank and the file, the saffron party has hit back by revamping its district unit, replacing the old guard with young faces in an attempt to counter the Akali leader’s political onslaught.

The party was wrestling with political insecurity ever since former BJP MLA Jagdeesh Sahni left the party just before the last Assembly elections. Before that he had vertically divided the party by getting his daughter Ambika Khanna installed as president of the Municipal Council (MC) much against the wishes of the party cadre. To compound matters, Lodhinangal, after losing the Batala Vidhan Sabha seat by more than 20,000 votes, had squarely blamed the BJP for his defeat. A senior SAD leader claimed that at that time, Lodhinangal had vowed to decimate the BJP and all his efforts were directed towards marginalising the party.

The constitution of the newly revamped district unit, which has the approval of Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma, is seen as a damage control exercise in the face of Lodhinangal’s onslaught.

The party has been careful in adjusting its former presidents- Ashok Modgil and Naresh Mahajan- as special invitees. Taking care of the Ramgharia vote bank, sitting councillor Harinder Singh, too, has been adjusted as a special invitee. Sources said Modgil was widely tipped to get the chairmanship of the Improvement Trust (IT) provided Lodhinangal did not have his way of getting one of his staunch supporters to become the chairperson. It is pertinent to mention here that under the SAD-BJP alliance pact, a BJP man will become the IT chairperson. However, the SAD Halqa in-charge is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that one of his loyalists gets the post.

The BJP leadership is annoyed with Lodhinangal’s decision to install his blue-eyed man Jatinder Kalyan as president of the MC in April. Later, he inducted sitting BJP councillor Vijay Thappar into the SAD fold, a development which had infuriated the BJP leadership. The party later reacted by expelling both Kalyna and Thappar from the party.

Batala BJP president Suresh Bhatia maintained that there was no rift in the SAD-BJP alliance. However, his assertions do not hold much water if Lodhinangal’s anti-BJP activities are any indication.