'Upgrade of health, edu infra top priority'

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, April 4

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) first-timer Jiwan Singh Sangowal scripted history in the recently concluded Assembly election by winning the Gill constituency by the highest margin in Ludhiana district.

“I sought votes on the promise of better basic civic amenities, education and health facilities as the people were fed up with the traditional parties,” the new legislator said. He stressed providing better civic amenities, besides ramping up education and health infrastructure, were top on his agenda.

Time to deliver

I had sought votes on the promise of better basic civic amenities, education and health facilities. It’s time to deliver. Ramping up existing infrastructure is my top priority. —Jiwan Singh Sangowal, Gill MLA

Sangowal, 58, contested his maiden election on the AAP ticket from Gill in 2017, which he lost but ended runner-up by polling more votes than then sitting SAD MLA Darshan Singh Shivalik.

A matriculate, Sangowal was associated with AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal since the days of anti-corruption movement spearheaded by Anna Hazare. Being a founder member of the AAP in Punjab since 2014, Sangowal was a daily wager before started working as deed writer in 1985. After joining the AAP, he stopped working as deed writer and started making aluminium and steel frames.

Sangowal trounced the sitting Congress MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid (Bulara), 61, by a margin of 58,910 votes. He polled 92,696 votes, which accounted for 50.33 per cent of the total polled votes. Former MLA Darshan Singh Shivalik, 66, of the SAD secured 35,052 votes, accounting for 19.03 per cent vote share, to finish runner-up.