Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll: Aam Aadmi Party deputes six ministers for election campaign

Ruchika M. Khanna

Chandigarh, June 13

With an aim to retain its bastion, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday deputed six ministers for the election campaign in Sangrur. The move came as BJP-backed candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon and Akali Dal candidate Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana have been aggressively campaigning for the byelection to the Lok Sabha seat.

The ministers Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Dr Baljit Kaur, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Laljit Singh Bhullar have been deputed in different Assembly segments that fall under the Sangrur Parliamentary constituency. The ministers are holding meetings and addressing rallies in the constituency, highlighting the achievements of the government and success of their anti-corruption drive. The “aam aadmi” image of the party candidate, Gurmail Singh Gharachon, too, is being “sold to people”.

The mandate given to the party leaders in a meeting held to discuss the Sangrur bypoll last week was to increase the winning margin.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was earlier representing the seat as an MP. He had resigned after the party won the Assembly polls this year. Mann had won by a margin of 1.10 lakh votes in 2019.

With three ministers, including the CM, representing the Assembly constituencies that fall under the Sangrur parliamentary seat, the battle to retain the seat is a matter of prestige for the government. At the same time, the other political parties are looking at redeeming their position through this poll, after a drubbing in the Assembly polls.