Garhshankar: Former Congress MLA Love Kumar Goldie joins Punjab Lok Congress

Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, January 17

The Congress is constantly suffering setbacks in the Garhshankar assembly constituency after declaring Amarpreet Lali as its candidate. Annoyed over being denied a party ticket, former MLA Love Kumar Goldie on Monday joined the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) in the presence of former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh.

With it, the number of those leaving the Congress to join the Punjab Lok Congress in Garhshankar has risen to four. Besides, two more left the party to join the BJP. In this way, the chances of victory for the Congress are not bright due to continuous setbacks to the Congress.

Former MLA Love Kumar Goldie had contested from Garhshankar on a Congress ticket four times and was elected MLA for the first time in the 2004 by-election and won the second time in 2007. After which he lost two elections continuously in 2012 and 2017. Prior to Goldie, in the assembly elections held twice (before 2004), the Congress had lost and polled less than 10,000 votes.

Prior to that, late Sarvan Ram, father of former MLA Love Kumar Goldie, had won the election twice on a Congress ticket. In this way, after the departure of former MLA Love Kumar Goldie to the Punjab Lok Congress, a big crisis is staring at the Congress in Garhshankar. With six Congress leaders defecting to the BJP and the Punjab Lok Congress, there has been confusion among Congress workers most of whom are in wait and watch mode.

Former MLA Love Kumar Goldie joined the PLC on Monday. Earlier, Congress senior leaders Thakur Krishna Dev Singh, Sarita Sharma and Kulwinder Bittu had joined the PLC. Nimisha Mehta left the Congress on Sunday and joined the BJP. A day earlier, Capt RS Pathania joined the BJP.