Swaran Singh Salaria to be BJP’s candidate for Gurdaspur by-election

Swaran Singh Salaria. (Source: BJP)

The BJP on Thursday decided to field Swaran Singh Salaria as its candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha by-election from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Earlier on Wednesday, the Congress nominated its Punjab unit president Sunil Jakhar, a loyalist of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, to contest Gurdaspur Lok Sabha by-election scheduled on October 11. The seat fell vacant following the death of BJP MP Vinod Khanna.

Jakhar said he would take everyone along and ensure victory for the party. “I am grateful to the high command for their confidence in me. With so many good and deserving contenders for the ticket, it was certainly a hard decision. I will try my best to come up to their expectations.” He said the election results would be a referendum on BJP’s three year-misrule. Gurdaspur battleground is not only a challenge for the Congress but also Jakhar personally. Congress is desperately looking at winning the election, first after it formed the government in the state.

The last date for filing of nominations for Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bye-election is September 22 while the model code is already in force.