After electing AAP MP, seat swung towards Congress in assembly election

PATIALA: The self-proclaimed panthic party of Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is yet to open its account in the Fategarh Sahib parliamentary constituency despite its socio-religious importance. Carved out as a separate parliamentary constituency following the delimitation in 2008, Fatehgarh Sahib first elected a Congressmen in 2009 and then a SAD-turned AAP candidate in 2014.


During the 2014 parliamentary elections, Fatehgarh Sahib, reserved for scheduled caste candidates, had gone with the AAP and had elected Harinder Singh Khalsa, who was earlier a SAD MP. However, AAP leadership at Delhi suspended Khalsa him for his alleged anti-party stands after he and Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi raised their voice against the ouster of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav. The two have arrived at the end of their term without resigning from the memberships of the party and Parliament.

Now, names of former Faridkot MP and wife of Justice Nirmal Singh, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, and former speaker of the Punjab Assembly and deputy speaker of Lok Sabha Charanjit Singh Atwal are doing rounds as SAD probables. AAP is likely to field Justice Zora Singh, who chaired a commission set up in 2015 to probe sacrilege incidents in Punjab and joined the party in December 2018.

In the case of the Congress, ex-MLA Satwant Singh Mohim has already filed his papers to claim the party ticket but Amar Singh, a former IAS officer who served as principal secretary to Madhya Pradesh former chief minister Digvijay Singh, is also vying for it.

Fatehgarh Sahib (SC) is made up of nine Vidhan Sabha segments, of which seven are now represented by the Congress, while one voted for SAD and one for AAP.

Those represented by the Congress include: Bassi Pathana by Gurpreet Singh GP, Amloh by Randeep Singh Nabha, Fatehgarh Sahib by Kuljit Singh Nagra, Payal by Lakhvir Singh Lakha, Khanna by Gurkital Singh Kotli, Samrala by Amrik Singh Dhillon, and Amargarh by Surjit Singh Dhiman. Raikot voted for Jagtar Singh Jagga Hissowal of AAP, and Sahnewal went with SAD as it voted for Sharanjit Singh Dhillon.

Agriculture is the major source of economy across the constituency barring a few segments in Khanna and Sahnewal which have hubs of iron and steel industry, along with some auto part making units.