Sukhbir Badal not to contest Gidderbaha bypoll: Dimpy Dhillon

Archit Watts

Gidderbaha/Muktsar, July 5

The suspense over SAD chief Sukhbir Badal to contest the Gidderbaha bypoll is over. The SAD’s Gidderbaha constituency in-charge Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, a transporter and an aide of Sukhbir, told The Tribune today that his party president recently gave him the go-ahead to contest and that he had started holding meetings with constituents as well.

The seat fell vacant after Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring got elected as the Ludhiana MP.

Dimpy had earlier unsuccessfully contested the election twice from this constituency. He had lost to Warring in 2022 by 1,349 votes and in 2017 by 16,212 votes.

Speaking on the phone, Dimpy said, “Earlier, there were rumours that Sukhbir may contest from Gidderbaha, but he has now told me to get ready to contest and start the groundwork. I am mobilising party workers.”

The SAD has won this seat nine times, five times by former CM Parkash Singh Badal (1969, 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1985) and four by former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal (1995, 1997, 2002 and 2007) as an SAD nominee. The Congress had won the seat five times, once each by former CM Harcharan Singh Brar in 1967, by Raghubir Singh in 1992 (now an SAD leader) and thrice by Warring (2012, 2017 and 2022).

The Congress may pick Warring’s wife Amrita as its nominee, while in political circles there are talks about the name of Muktsar Zila Parishad chairman Narinder Singh Kaoni.