By Asia Samachar | India |
Panjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal is one of the eight Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates named to contest for the impending Lok Sabha seats in the northern Indian state.
The first time state lawmaker was chosen to contest for the parliamentary seat along with four other state ministers, an incumbent MP, a former Congress MLA and a Punjabi artiste.
Kuldeep, a former NRI who returned to Punjab to pursue a political career, will contest in Amritsar.
The other state int he fray ministers are Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh (contesting in Patiala), Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian (Bathinda), Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer (Sangrur) and Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar (Khadoor Sahib). If victorious, their departure to Delhi may trigger by-elections at the Panjab state assembly, known as the Vidhan Sabha.
Joining them are AAP MP from Jalandhar Sushil Kumar Rinku, former Congress MLA Gurpreet Singh GP and Punjabi actor-comedian Karamjit Anmol.
AAP revealed their names an event in Mohali on Thursday (March 14).
One political commentator described the list as highly conservative that will likely disappoint AAP ordinary workers and demonstrates Mann’s firm grip on the party in Punjab with people close to him like Gurmeet Khudian, Kuldeep Dhaliwal, Laljit Bhullar and Karamjit Anmol getting tickets.
“AAP is hoping to ride high on the popularity and image of Bhagwant Mann, division of opposition, free electricity and relentless advertisement to sweep Lok Sabha elections like it did in 2022 Vidhan Sabha,” commented Harjeshwar Pal Singh, an assistant professor at a Punjab college.
There are 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab with four seats reserved for scheduled caste (SC) candidates.
The AAP candidates will be up against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD was part of the NDA until it left the alliance in September 2020 over the contentious farm laws introduced by the federal government led by Prime Minister Narenda Modi.
AAP and Congress have forged a seat-sharing in a number of states, but failed to achieve a deal for Punjab.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, Congress-led UPA alliance won eight seats and NDA cornered four seats.
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