Congress has won Shahkot seat only once in last 41 years. From 1977 to 1992, it was represented by ex-Akali minister late Balwant Singh for three terms. (Representational)
Even as Inspector Parminder Singh Bajwa’s arrest Friday came as a relief for the ruling Congress, it still faces a litmus test in the Shahkot Assembly bypoll. Congress nominee Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia already faces a tough fight in the seat, considered a pocket borough of Akalis.
To make matters worse, Bajwa stoked the Congress infighting by claiming that another Congress leader, Kewal Dhillon, was a part of the conspiracy against Sherowalia, a protege of former minister Rana Gurjit Singh. Dhillon is a confidant of Amarinder, but both Rana Gurjit and Dhillon are at daggers drawn.
Congress has won Shahkot seat only once in last 41 years. From 1977 to 1992, it was represented by ex-Akali minister late Balwant Singh for three terms. In 1992, Akalis boycotted polls and Congress’s Brij Bhupinder Singh was elected. But in 1997, the seat went to Ajit Singh Kohar, who won it five consecutive times.
Congress’s campaigner Navjot Singh Sidhu stayed away when Sherowalia filed nomination papers Thursday. Sources close to him said he was in Bengaluru to meet Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys.