Stage set for 3-cornered contest

Ludhiana: With Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) declaring senior leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal as its candidate, the stage is set for a three-cornered contest in Ludhiana parliamentary constituency.
Grewal, whose candidature was declared after several flip flops by the leadership on Saturday, will face Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and People Democratic Alliance (PDA) candidate and sitting LIP MLA from Atam Nagar Simarjit Singh Bains, who have already begun their campaigns in the industrial town.

Sources said initially there was resistance to Grewal’s candidature within the party and the leadership even contemplated other candidates. But a strong backing by a section of influential leaders and some pressure tactics by Grewal worked in his favour.

“Former MP and Sahnewal MLA Sharanjit Singh Dhillon backed Grewal strongly. And since senior Taksali leaders had left the party, SAD president Sukhbir Badal was not in a position to lose more senior leaders,” said a party insider.

Grewal, who is the senior vice-president of SAD, had got tough fight from SAD district president Ranjit Singh Dhillon, but sources said the senior leaders of party backed Grewal following which he was declared the candidate.

Though party leaders claim that SAD would register victory with good margin, it remains to be seen if Grewal will be able to bring back Akali Dal that had lost the Ludhiana seat in the last two parliamentary elections.

In 2004, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon had won the seat for SAD, but since then Congress had bagged the seat. While Manish Tewari had won the seat in 2009, it was Ravneet Bittu who won the elections in 2014.

Once a loyalist of Tohra group, Maheshinder Grewal, a law graduate and resident of Model Town Extension, had resigned from the party in 1999 in support of Gurcharan Singh Tohra who was removed from the party in 1999 following his differences with Parkash Singh Badal. He had returned to the party in 2003.

He remained an MLA from Ludhiana West constituency from 1997 till 2002. He had also been the political adviser to former CM Parkash Singh Badal.

Talking to TOI over the phone from Chandigarh, Grewal said, “I will prove that the decision taken by SAD is right. We will register victory with a huge margin.”

He said he would reveal his plans for his election campaign soon.

Hailing the decision, Sahnewal MLA Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said, “The party has taken a wise decision. Opponents should be prepared to face defeat. We will win with a big margin. Though the declaration came a bit late, we had already started holding meetings and rallies in support of Akali Dal candidate.”

Former Dakha MLA and Akali leader Manpreet Ayali said, “We respect the party’s decision and we will give full support to Grewal in the election campaigning.”

Meanwhile, soon after Grewal’s name was declared by SAD, the Congress leaders started sharing messages on the social media claiming that its MP Ravneet Bittu would emerge victorious again.

Bittu, Congress MP and candidate from Ludhiana, congratulated Grewal for being declared as SAD candidate from Ludhiana. “I hope there is a healthy competition among the candidates on public issues, instead of mudslinging. The competition is only between Akali Dal and Congress,” he claimed.

PDA candidate Bains claimed that he would win hands down in the coming elections as he faces no competition from Congress or SAD.

On Grewal’s candidature, Bains said, “The voters will decide the fate of candidates and the end will be really interesting. Neither the Akali Dal nor Congress has any chance this time.”

AAP struggles to find Phoolka’s replacement

With 16.5 lakh voters, Ludhiana parliamentary seat is spread across nine assembly constituencies of which five are represented by Congress MLAs while the rest are with AAP (2) and LIP (2). After the resignation of senior leader and Dakha MLA H S Phoolka, who was the AAP candidate from Ludhiana in 2014 parliamentary elections, there has been a void and the party has been struggling to find a suitable candidate.