Dera Baba Nanak seat set to see five-cornered fight
The Dera Baba Nanak Assembly seat where a bypoll is slated for November 13 will see a five-cornered contest.
The election carries significance for different parties in different ways. The SAD will be seeking to reinvent itself, the Congress will be keen on showing that it retains the influence it had when Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had won the 2022 Assembly elections, AAP will be seeking to showcase the work done by it since it wrested power in the last polls while the BJP, widely considered to be a non-entity in rural Gurdaspur, would like to redefine itself after a drubbing in the Lok Sabha (LS) elections.
Lastly, by fielding his aide and Punjabi film actor Daljeet Singh Kalsi, MP Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Dibrugarh jail, would like to prove that his victory in the LS poll from Khadoor Sahib was no fluke.
The SAD has inducted Sucha Singh Langah into the party fold. The leader, who was forced to spend several years in political hibernation after featuring in a voyeuristic video clip in 2017, is sure to contest the seat. His re-entry into the political area has buoyed the cadre although opposition leaders say the “SAD is clutching at a straw”. The party is in a “must-win situation” because a victory will mean it remains politically relevant.
Sitting Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Randhawa’s wife Jatinder Kaur is certain to be fielded by the Congress. The bypoll has given Sukhjinder yet another stage to display his ever-growing influence in the area. Before being sent to the parliament, Sukhjinder had remained a four-time MLA with three of his victories coming from Dera Baba Nanak.
AAP will be banking upon its Halqa incharge Gurdeep Singh Randhawa. The BJP has not decided on its candidate yet. Senior leaders say turncoat Ravi Karan Kahlon is among the contenders. He wields influence, which is proved from the fact that he had bagged over 50,000 votes in the 2022 Vidhan Sabha polls from this seat. Kahlon’s strong performance had nearly pulled the rug from under the feet of Sukhjinder Randhawa who had managed to win by the skin of his teeth.
