‘Outsider’ tilt in Bassi Pathana
Sanjay Bumbroo
Carved out of erstwhile Sirhind Assembly segment, Bassi Pathana witnessed its first Assembly election in 2012. Akali Dal’s Nirmal Singh defeated Congress nominee Harbans Kaur Dullo, wife of Rajya Sabha member and former PPCC chief Shamsher Singh Dullo.
Daljit Singh Sohi (70) recalls the promises Nirmal Singh had made during the previous elections, including a community centre, a bus terminal, the Bassi-Kharar railway underbridge, a pollution-free industrial hub, laying of sewerage pipes, widening of the Bassi-Morinda road, a polytechnic college by upgrading the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and a stadium adjoining the ITI.
How many of these have been fulfilled, we ask engineering graduate Jatinder Singh (25). “Sade warge pade-likhe naujawan layi aithe kuch vi nahi hai. MLA saab ne vaada kitaa si ki oh ethe pollution-mukt industry liyange, par uhahan ne vi kuch nahi kita (There is nothing for the educated youth like us. The MLA had promised a pollution-free industrial hub, but he did nothing),” he says.
Khamano resident Rattan Singh lists out a few promises that materialised. “"In the past five years, we have seen the construction of a judicial and administrative complex and a bus terminal in Khamano, widening of the Bassi-Morinda road, and laying of sewerage pipes,” he says.
The residents continue to face a shortage of potable water. “An overhead water tank built about 25 years ago remains non-functional,” Rattan adds.
On the electoral front, a triangular contest is in the offing. The SAD has replaced the sitting MLA with former bureaucrat Darbara Singh Guru, while AAP has fielded Santokh Singh Salana. As for the Congress, it has opted for a new face in Gurpreet Singh GP.
In the Akali camp, a section supporting Nirmal Singh is opposing the candidature of an “outsider”. These SAD workers claim that the MLA has done a fairly good job.
Last time, too, the SAD had fielded a parachute candidate to quell dissidence. The move had paid off. Will it be an encore this time? Or will the Congress or AAP spoil the Akali party?
