MC polls: SAD-B rebels face uphill task in three wards

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, February 20

Though several keen contests are on the cards in the upcoming Municipal Corporation (MC) elections here on February 24, when the SAD-B and BJP is concerned, focus is mainly on Wards No. 72, 73 and 74, where rebels are posing a challenge to official candidates of both the parties.

Harpreet Singh Bedi, former councillor Veera Bedi (wife of Harpreet Singh Bedi) and Gurpreet Singh Leel, all SAD-B leaders, who were expelled from the party for defiance, are in the poll fray.

Of the three rebels in the race, Harpreet Bedi is in a piquant situation as he was nominated official candidate from Ward No. 72 by the SAD-B and was also allotted party symbol (scales). However, upon his failure to withdraw the candidature of his wife Veera Devi (an outgoing councillor) as an independent from Ward No. 73 within the deadline, the SAD-B expelled the husband-wife duo from the party and announced to lend its support to an independent Ravinder Kaushik, reportedly close to the Congress.

Harpreet Bedi is pitted against former councillor and a retired PAU scientist, Dr Hari Singh Brar (Congress), besides Pawandeep Singh Sehgal of AAP and Ravinder Kaushik, an independent candidate supported by SAD-B in Ward No. 72.

In Ward No. 73 Bedi’s wife Veera is locked in a triangular contest against Seema Kapoor (Congress) and Anupam Bhanot (BJP). Being the outgoing councillor, Veera could have an edge, but sources in the SAD-BJP claimed that she would pay the price for rebellion against her party. Cadres of both the parties would stand behind the BJP nominee from this ward, they added.

Paramjit Kaur Shivalik of the SAD-B, also an outgoing councillor and wife of former legislator Darhshan Singh Shivalik is facing challenge from rebel Akali candidate Gurpreet Singh Leel (now expelled from party) in Ward No. 74. Others in the electoral arena are Pankaj Kaka (Congress), Parminder Singh (LIP) and Shinderjit Singh (Independent). Shivalik is banking on the traditional vote bank of the SAD-BJP alliance. Leel claimed that Akali cadres was upset with the autocratic way of working of the new SAD-B leadership and would be able to win their trust.

A general impression among voters of these three wards was that if the rebel candidates were not able to emerge as game-changers then they could at least act as spoil sport in some cases through division of votes.