Punjab election: Double whammy for big names
Deepkamal Kaur
Jalandhar, March 13
All those who were members of some commissions or committees and had to put in papers for contesting the polls have had to face a double loss. While they lost the posts they were holding, they ended up cutting a sorry figure in the polls.
At least four such leaders have faced a dual setback. SGPC former chief Jagir Kaur was made to resign to contest as SAD candidate from her traditional seat Bholath. Jagir Kaur lost to Congress’ Sukhpal Khaira by a margin of 9,225 votes. In November 2020, it had only been a year since she was elected SGPC chief for the fourth time when she was made to step down. SAD insiders close to her said she was insisting that she be allowed to carry on with the SGPC presidentship while remaining a candidate, but party president Sukhbir Badal persuaded her to quit it so that she could concentrate on her campaign full time and bring in a good result, but the plan somehow failed.
Likewise, Dr Navjot Dahiya, who was made the chairman of the newly constituted Punjab State Commission for General Category in December 2021, had to quit from the post just weeks after he had taken over. He was picked by the Congress as the Nakodar candidate but lost to AAP nominee Inderjit Kaur Mann by 6,800 votes. Since Dr Dahiya is a renowned orthopaedician and National Vice President of IMA, he is now back with his practice.
BJP leader Iqbal Singh Lalpura, who was appointed as the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities in September last year, too, had to resign from the constitutional post so as to be able to contest as the party candidate from the Ropar Assembly seat. Lalpura, a retired IPS officer, lost his security deposit.
Similarly, state BJP ex-president Vijay Sampla, who was the Chairperson of National Commission for Schedule Castes, contested the Phagwara poll quitting from the post. But he too ultimately lost his security deposit in the four-cornered contest.
Jagir Kaur stepped down as SGPC president to contest as SAD nominee from Bholath
Navjot Dahiya quit as a state commission head to fight on the Congress ticket from Nakodar
Iqbal Singh Lalpura was minorities’ panel head, who contested from Ropar on BJP ticket
Vijay Sampla of the BJP resigned as national SC commission chief to contest from Phagwara
