Malerkotla segment loss: AAP workers blame party

Mahesh Sharma

Malerkotla, June 7

Congress candidate’s massive lead in Malerkotla Assembly segment over AAP’s Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer is not going down well among office-bearers and supporters of Aam Aadmi Party.

Khaira got a lead of over 11k votes 

Malerkotla AAP MLA Zamil Ur Rehman had won the 2022 Assembly election with a wide margin of 21,686 votes. But during recently held parliamentary poll, Malerkotla was the only Assembly segment of Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency’s nine segments where AAP nominee Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer trailed behind Congress nominee Sukhpal Singh Khaira by 11,654 votes.

While a section of workers termed the trend as failure of senior leaders, including legislator Zamil Ur Rehman to involve the cadre of the party in the campaign, others have labelled it as people’s anguish against Bhagwant Mann-led government for not inducting Rehman in the cabinet.

Comparatively slower pace of development since the constitution of the AAP government was also cited as one of the factors behind the poor response received from the residents.

Mukkaram Sefi, president of Wazam Ehley Sukhan, said the residents, including a section of AAP workers had expressed their anguish by supporting candidates launched by other parties as they were unhappy due to non-induction of MLA Zamil Ur Rehman in cabinet.

“As Malerkotla is the only Muslim dominated Assembly segment of the state, successive governments had been inducting its legislator in the cabinet,” said Sefi, regretting that Chief Minister Mann had not bothered to induct Rehman in the cabinet.

Though the government had announced a list of members of Punjab Waqf Board just prior to imposition of Model Code of Conduct, no announcement was made regarding nomination of various office-bearers, including chairman of the board.

On the other hand, a section of AAP workers alleged that the residents were disappointed that promises made during the 2022 Assembly elections were not kept by the government and the local legislator.

“After talks of fetching massive grants for development of the area, local leadership even failed to address issues of poor vegetable growers,” said chairman of the Farmers’ Federation, Malerkotla. He, along with his supporters, had disassociated from the Aam Aadmi Party recently.

Zamil Ur Rehman had won the 2022 Assembly election with a wide margin of 21,686 votes, but during recently held parliamentary poll, Malerkotla was the only Assembly segment of Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency’s nine segments, where Hayer trailed behind Congress nominee Sukhpal Singh Khaira by 11,654 votes.