Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 18

Post the recent exit of ex-MLA Jagbir Brar from the Congress, the Nakodar Assembly constituency, from where he had contested elections in 2017, is seeing the activities of at least six party leaders.

Jagbir Brar had on Monday joined SAD and was announced as the candidate from Jalandhar Cantonment seat, from where he had been MLA earlier. With Brar vacating the seat, many leaders have started eyeing this constituency. Among the frontrunners are ex-minister Avtar Henry, IMA national vice-president and ex-Congress spokesperson Dr Navjot Dahiya, Truck Union Punjab president Happy Sandhu, ex-Nurmahal MLA Gurbinder Atwal, Market Committee Chairman Deepa Thammanwal and realtor and restaurateur Baljit Johal. Avtar Henry’s native village Bilga also falls in Nakodar.

Before Brar, ex-minister Amarjit Singh Samra was representing the seat. He had won from the seat for four consecutive terms. But owing to health reasons, Samra has announced not to contest any elections in the future. He also maintains that he will support any candidate that the party announces from the seat.

Currently, Avtar Henry has still not been himself much visible in Nakodar but he has already begun mobilising his teams in the area. His recent closeness with the new PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu is already the talk of town. But there are issues with his candidature. Henry’s son Bawa Henry is already an MLA from Jalandhar North and will surely be re-seeking ticket this time. The party had in 2017 had maintained one family-one ticket norm which might be implemented again this time.

There is yet another issue. Henry’s vote had been cancelled ahead of 2017 polls and he could not contest that time too. The matter of his dual citizenship still remains pending in the district court. His son from his first wife, Gurjeet Sanghera, had moved a petition that his father held a British passport since 1969. Henry has contested six elections since 1986 from Jalandhar North seat.

Asked about his keenness to contest polls from Nakodar, he replied: “It will be the decision of the party higher ups in Chandigarh or Delhi. Whatever task they give me, I will complete it.” On his chance of getting voting right back, he said: “I am hopeful that it will get sorted out”.

An orthopaedician by profession, Dr Dahiya has been quite active politically too. He had recently created a sensation pan-India by calling PM Narendra Modi a super spreader during the WB elections just ahead of the second wave of Covid in the country. A close associate of Finance Minister Manpreet Badal whom he had joined in People’s Party of Punjab, he had sought ticket from Shahkot last time. With a void in the party in Nakodar seat, Dr Dahiya will be using all his links to grab it this time.

An active Truck Union leader, Happy Sandhu claims that he is the most active leader of the party from the seat. “I have already made two to three rounds in each of the 159 villages of this constituency and have built a good network. I also have a good support from Samra, who has been the tallest leader from here”.

Ex-MLA Atwal, who had been in Canada for the past few years, too is back. He had sought ticket from here in the last elections too but was sent to Bholath. He held just a few meetings there after which he announced to give up. He contested as an Independent candidate from Nakodar and got just 1664 votes.

Thammanwal and Johal have put their claims for the first time. Johal owns Taj restaurants in the city, besides running a dairy and property business in the area.