Lok Sabha polls: Congress candidate Dharamvira Gandhi files nomination from Patiala seat

Chandigarh, May 8

Congress candidate from Patiala Lok Sabha constituency Dharamvira Gandhi filed his nomination papers on Wednesday.

He took part in a roadshow in Patiala before filing his papers. He was accompanied by Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and other party leaders.

Speaking to reporters in Patiala, Warring said Gandhi was getting an “overwhelming” response from the voters of the constituency as they believed that the Congress nominee would raise their issues in Parliament.

Taking a dig at BJP candidate and sitting Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, Warring said, “People know that the time of Maharajas and Maharanis is over. I do not think Maharani Sahiba (Preneet Kaur) ever raised any issue in Parliament.” Kaur is the wife of Captain Amarinder Singh, a former Punjab Chief Minister and a member of Patiala’s royal family.

Warring expressed confidence that Gandhi would win the seat by a huge margin.

Gandhi, a doctor by profession, won the Lok Sabha election as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate in 2014 by defeating Kaur — a Congress candidate back then — from Patiala.

He quit the AAP in 2016 and joined the Congress last month.

Apart from Kaur, Gandhi is pitted against AAP candidate Dr Balbir Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal’s N K Sharma.

The nomination process for the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab began on Tuesday.

The nomination filing will continue till May 14 while the scrutiny of papers will take place on May 15 and the last date for the withdrawal of nominations is May 17.

Polling for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1.