Early activity for Lok Sabha, Assembly polls

Bijendra Ahlawat

Prospective candidates and ticket aspirants of the next Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections that are several months away have already become active in Faridabad district. Several of the sitting MPs and MLAs and ticket aspirants have started reaching out to the masses, and are also staking their claim to the seats.

“I think the race for the ticket of the upcoming parliamentary elections has already started,” says Mohan Singh, a social activist based in Palwal district. He adds it seems political leaders and ticket aspirants are already in the election mode. “Recently, a former MP conducted meetings in villages and openly claimed that he had been assured of the ticket for the next Lok Sabha elections. He was certain of his victory, as the sitting MP has failed to deliver,” he says. 

The political scene in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections is also becoming interesting. “Leaders and ticket aspirants have become active in order to present themselves as suitable candidates,” says Pratyush Sharma, a lawyer who hails from Sadpura village. He adds while the present MLA from the Tigaon constituency in Faridabad is from the Congress, there are at least two prominent ticket aspirants from the BJP. One of the BJP ticket aspirant is the son of an MP, the other is a close confidante of a former MP, but now a BJP leader and a ‘rival’ of the present MP. A complaint was lodged with the police recently against one of the ticket aspirants for allegedly threatening a businessman over some issue claiming that he would be the next MLA.

For the Faridabad Lok Sabha seat, the BJP has two main contenders — present MP and Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar and former MP Avtar Singh Bhadana. Though Bhadana is at present a BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh, he has been openly staking his claim to the Faridabad Lok Sabha seat for the 2019 elections. Bhadana is reported to have indirectly criticised the functioning of the present MP, while Gurjar claims that he does not prefer to talk about such a person (Bhadana). “I am a devoted party worker and will do whatever the party asks me to do,” says Gurjar when asked if wants to fight the 2019 poll.

 “As there are a number of ticket aspirants for the elections, both Congress and BJP are certain to face a tough time in the selection of the candidates,” says Pinaki Ranjan, a social activist. The situation is likely to turn volatile as at least one sitting MLA each belonging to the BSP and the INLD are also staking their claim to the BJP ticket in the next Lok Sabha elections, he adds.