Amritpal may cut into Valtoha’s vote share in Khadoor Sahib

Tribune News Service

GS Paul

Amritsar, April 28

Khadoor Sahib will witness an interesting contest with SAD announcing the candidature of senior leader Virsa Singh Valtoha at a time when Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh has already jumped into the fray independently. Both will fight with the ‘Panthic agenda’.

The SAD (Amritsar) has withdrawn its candidate Harpal Singh Baler in favour of Amritpal. Valtoha, elected to the Assembly as MLA in 2007 and 2012, will take on AAP’s Laljit Bhullar and BJP candidate Manjit Singh Manna Mianwind. The Congress is yet to announce its candidate.

Khadoor Sahib is spread over Majha, Malwa, and Doaba. The Assembly segments in the Majha region included Taran Taran, Khemkaran, Patti and Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran district and Baba Bakala and Jandiala Assembly seats in Amritsar district; Zira of Ferozepur in Malwa and segments of Sultanpur Lodhi and Kapurthala in Kapurthala district in Doaba region.

In 2019, the SAD was defeated owing to division of votes between its candidate Bibi Jagir Kaur and Independent candidate Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the wife of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. This had paved the way for Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa to grab the victory.

When asked about the division of votes when the fight is on common ‘Panthic agenda’ between him and Amritpal, Valtoha said, “To flag the Panthic agenda, it required a life-long struggle. Someone born after 1984 and dons the ‘Sikhi saroop’ just a few years ago could never match the Panthic thoughts and feelings that I have,” he said.

Valtoha, who landed into controversy over his admission of having past ‘terror link’ remarks in the Vidhan Sabha, said he was also booked under the NSA twice and was jailed for around 10 years for the sake of Panthic cause.

“How long did Amritpal remain behind the bars? Just over a year. The agenda of his family members was to shift him to Punjab. Our fight is for the release of all ‘Bandi Singhs’ who have been languishing in jails for over three decades,” he said.

On the other hand, Amritpal’s mother stated that though he was not willing to contest, yet the atmosphere being created by both state and Centre had compelled him to jump into the fray.

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