12 women candidates in fray from 14 Assembly seats in Ludhiana district

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, February 10

In what appears to be a gender discrimination, only 12 women candidates are in the poll fray from 14 Assembly constituencies of Ludhiana district.

This accounted for mere 6.86 per cent of the total 175 contestants in the electoral battle in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population.

Except the main Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from two seats and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) from one, no other main political party, including the ruling Congress, has bet on the fairer sex in Ludhiana, which sends a maximum of 14 MLAs, accounting for almost 12 per cent of the total 117 members, to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

While the AAP has retained its sitting MLA and Deputy Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, from Jagraon and fielded a new face Rajinder Pal Kaur from Ludhiana South, the SAD has nominated a first-timer Jasdeep Kaur Yadu from Khanna.

Except Manuke and Independent Surinder Pal Kaur from Sahnewal, who are postgraduates, and Yadu and AAP’s Rajinder Pal Kaur from Ludhiana South, who both are graduates, all other eight women candidates in the electoral battle are undergraduates.

Interestingly, two nominees are even under matriculate.

Also, no female candidate has any criminal antecedents except AAP’s Rajinder Pal Kaur, who is facing a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust.

Moreover, except four women, who have declared minor liabilities, none of the rest eight nominees has any liability. The official data, available with The Tribune, revealed that Jagraon, Ludhiana North and Ludhiana West have two women candidates each while six constituencies, including Khanna, Ludhiana South, Payal, Sahnewal, Samrala and Atam Nagar, have one female nominee each. However, Ludhiana East, Ludhiana Central, Gill, Dakha and Raikot have no candidate from the fairer sex.

While the youngest woman candidate is aged 34, the oldest female nominee in the fray is 61-year-old. However, most candidates are in their early 40s.

AAP’s Manuke, 49, and Tejinder Kaur Teji Sandhu, 45, of the Lok Insaaf Party are contesting from Jagraon, Promila Ralhan Bani, 42, of the Bahujan Mukti Party, and Manju, 42, of the Samajwadi Party from Ludhiana North, Anita Shah, 42, of Bahujan Mukti Party, and Sarabjit Kaur, 34, of the Aas Punjab Party from Ludhiana West.

Elsewhere, Jasdeep Kaur Yadu, 42, of the SAD, is in the poll battle from Khanna, Rajinder Pal Kaur, 56, of the AAP, from Ludhiana South, Rajdeep Kaur, 42, of the Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Party, from Payal, Surinder Pal Kaur, 61, Independent, from Sahnewal, Kamaljit Kaur, 44, Independent from Samrala, and Surinder Kaur Bains, 46, Independent, is contesting from Atam Nagar.

WIFE AGAINST HUSBAND

In a technical glitch, Surinder Kaur Bains filed nomination papers as covering candidate of the LIP founder and sitting MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains. Surinder Kaur’s failure to withdraw her candidature made her an Independent candidate. Now, she is pitted against her husband from Atam Nagar as per the official records.

RICHEST & POOREST

• Surinder Kaur Bains is worth Rs5.4 crore
• Kamaljit Kaur worth nil

MOST & LEAST QUALIFIED

• Sarvjit Kaur Manuke and Surinder Pal Kaur, both are postgraduates
• Kamaljit Kaur is fifth pass

SEGMENTS WITH NO FEMALE CONTESTANT

• Dakha, Gill, Ludhiana Central, Ludhiana East and Raikot

KNOW THE WOMEN CANDIDATES

Jagraon

Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, 49, AAP MLA, MA Economics, assets: Rs13.72 lakh, no liabilities

Tejinder Kaur Teji Sandhu, 45, LIP, 10+2, assets: Rs12,52,190, no liabilities

Khanna

Jasdeep Kaur Yadu, 42, SAD, Graduate, assets: Rs18,40,064, no liabilities

Ludhiana North

Promila Ralhan Bani, 42, Bahujan Mukti Party, 10+2, NTT, assets: Rs15,55,260, no liabilities

Manju, 42, Samajwadi Party, 10+1, assets: Rs1.53 lakh, no liabilities

Ludhiana South

Rajinder Pal Kaur, 56, AAP, Graduate, assets: Rs73,08,388, liabilities: Rs1,74,923 bank loan, criminal case under Sections 406, 420 & 120-B, IPC, at Dakha in 2015, which is pending trial in a Ludhiana court

Ludhiana West

Anita Shah, 42, Bahujan Mukti Party, Matric, assets: Rs73,500, liabilities: Rs5,600 bank loan

Sarabjit Kaur, 34, Aas Punjab Party, IT Diploma, assets: Rs10,000, no liability

Payal

Rajdeep Kaur, 42, Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Party, eighth pass, assets: Rs9.05 lakh, liabilities: Rs3.5 lakh bank loan

Sahnewal

Surinder Pal Kaur, 61, Independent, MA Punjabi, assets: Rs20,79,275, liabilities: Rs1,91,836

Samrala

Kamaljit Kaur, 44, Independent, fifth pass, no assets and liabilities

Atam Nagar

Surinder Kaur Bains, 46, Independent, Matric, assets: Rs5,40,50,311, no liabilities

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