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It is official. The Congress has fielded former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi from Jalandhar Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency. The party also announced five other candidates. Seven candidates are yet to be announced.

 

Among those announced on Sunday include firebrand leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira from Sangrur, the stronghold of the Aam Aadmi Party and the “home parliamentary constituency” of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. Mann has represented Sangrur in 2014 and 2019. Sangrur is Mann’s home turf. 

 

In fact, in 2019, Sangrur was the only parliamentary constituency, not just in Punjab but from across India, won by the AAP. The AAP retained its firm grip here in 2022 also when it swept all the nine assembly segments falling within the parliamentary constituency.  

 

However, in a major upset, the AAP lost the Sangrur parliamentary constituency to Simranjit Singh Mann of the Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar, in a by-election necessitated by Mann’s resignation as an MP after he became the Chief Minister. 

 

Although the margin of victory was just about six thousand votes in a five-cornered contest, the defeat was a setback for the party, which had swept 92 of the 117 assembly segments just a few months ago.

 

Right now, Sangrur remains a hot seat, since Chief Minister Mann will be more than keen to redeem what used to be his pocket borough. By fielding Sukhpal Singh Khaira, the Congress has not only posed a severe challenge but tried to hit him hard where it hurts the most.

 

Khaira is a diehard critic of the AAP and the Chief Minister. He was jailed also last year in connection with an old case. However, his arrest was attributed to his being stringently critical of the AAP government and Chief Minister Mann. But it was not always like that. When Mann and Khaira were together in the AAP, they enjoyed a cordial relationship, if not friendship. 

 

But now the two are daggers drawn against each other, like sworn enemies.

 

With his fierce rivalry with the Chief Minister apart, he is also a powerful campaigner. He will give the AAP a run for its money and will pose a serious and difficult challenge to the government. 2022 parliamentary by-election defeat apart, Sangrur is a stronghold of the AAP.

 

In Amritsar and Fatehgarh Sahib, the Congress has retained its sitting MPs, Gurjeet Aujla and Dr Amar Singh respectively. 

 

In Patiala, the party has given a ticket to Dr Dharamvir Gandhi, a former AAP MP, who joined the Congress recently. His candidature had seen a strong resistance from the traditional party leadership in Patiala. But the party has decided to go with him only, irrespective of the resistance and opposition.

 

In Bathinda, the party has fielded Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, a former legislator who joined the Congress recently after resigning from the Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal. Before that, he was in the Congress only and had switched sides in 2014. His fight against Ms Harsimrat Kaur Badal will be interesting to watch.

 

Although the SAD-B has not yet announced Ms Badal’s candidature, it is a foregone conclusion already that she will be the party candidate from here. She has represented Bathinda for three consecutive terms since 2009. It will be interesting to watch Sidhu, who actively campaigned in 2019 in her favour, to now work and campaign against her.