BSP's lone MLA seeks cooperation from govt

Avneet Kaur

Nawanshahr, March 26

Nachhatar Pal Singh (47), a first-time MLA from Nawanshahr and the only Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader to have won the Assembly elections in the state, is clear about his priorities. He says all promises he made during his election campaign will be fulfilled and, under his leadership, the constituency will touch new heights.

Education, health on agenda

My priorities are to upgrade the educational infrastructure and build a sports stadium and a medical college in the martyrs’ name in the Nawanshahr segment. —Nachhatar Pal Singh, Nawanshahr MLA

This is for the first time since 1972 Nawanshahr voters have given a chance to a party other than the Congress or the SAD. The BSP has won a seat in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha after a gap of nearly 25 years.

Singh had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections in 2017 on the BSP ticket, garnering just 19,578 votes. This time, however, he made a strong comeback by defeating AAP’s Lalit Mohan Ballu and then Congress MLA Angad Saini by a margin of nearly 6,000 votes.

The BSP legislator says it was a hard-earned victory and he is grateful to the people of Nawanshahr for not getting swayed by religion or caste politics and elected a Scheduled Caste person from a general seat.

“Nawanshahr has never been divided on religious or caste lines. I will make sure that the constituency remains undivided,” he says.

“I welcome the decision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to instal statues of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, BR Ambedkar and Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the Punjab Assembly complex. I hope the government will support all MLAs irrespective of party allegiance and set an example in good governance,” the BSP legislator says.

Singh adds that upgrading the educational infrastructure, building a sports stadium and setting up a medical college in the martyrs’ name are his priorities.