In the Badal bastion of Bathinda, a do-or-die battle for Harsimrat

Singh recalled how the AAP removed local MLA Vijay Singla from the Cabinet, citing corruption a few weeks after taking over. “Now, AAP candidate Gurmeet Singh Khuddian makes him sit in his car when he comes seeking votes. We want an answer. Tell us truthfully if he was corrupt or not. If no, then you owe us an answer why was he removed? If he is corrupt, then why he is with your candidate? There cannot be a double-speak. We are not fools.”

Angrej said that he had voted for the AAP in the past two elections, “but I do not know what to do now”. Represented by AAP MLA Dr Vijay Singla, Mansa is part of the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency from where Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the wife of former deputy chief minister and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, is seeking reelection.

The Congress has fielded former MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, alias Pebby Sidhu. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominated former IAS Parampal Kaur Sidhu, who is also the daughter-in-law of senior SAD leader Sikandar Singh Maluka. A gangster-turned-politician Lakha Sidhana is also contesting from the seat.
Lack of enthusiasm is not just visible in Mansa.

Gurjeevan Singh, a resident of Talwandi Akliya village in Mansa, summed up the sentiment, when he said, “We don’t want to vote for anyone. Assi vote pa ke enha nu raaj te bitha dinde khud khetan vich bhonkde firde. (We make them sit on the throne after voting and keep working hard in the fields). Bass vote paani paini hai (Just that we will have to vote). Nobody did anything for us. Saanu vadde Badal Saab bahut yaad aonde (We miss senior Badal Sahib),” he said referring to former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. Talwandi Akliya had hit headlines in the 2012 Assembly elections for having cast 90 per cent votes.

A citadel of the Badals, the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency is being watched closely. Harsimrat, who resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet protesting farm laws, subsequently the SAD snapped ties with BJP, is seeking votes as “nimaani sewadar” (a humble servant), years after the Badals attracted negativity from the electorates. The incumbency reached to such an extent that senior Badal lost to AAP candidate Gurmeet Singh Khuddian in the Lambi Assembly segment in the 2022 Assembly elections. Harsimrat is facing the ‘giant slayer’ Khuddian in the LS polls now.

“It is her turn to avenge that bitter defeat. But she is not showing any signs of bitterness. She comes across as a humble leader without any security guards and meets women separately. She reminded everyone in Bathinda that it was the Badals who brought AIIMS to Bathinda. They changed the city from the backwaters of Malwa to a place worth living. We have good roads, sewage disposal and everything one can ask for,” said Manpreet Singh, a resident of Kamla Nehru Nagar, Bathinda.

In Rampura village, a few kilometres from Bathinda, Avtar Singh Rampura said Bathinda is like a ‘khichdi’ this time. “There are so many parties and so many candidates. AAP has given free power, and Akalis has given free tubewells. People are talking about Congress also. Then there is Lakha Sidhana. He is talking about saving neem trees and underground water. Mandheer (a word for youth in local parlance) is going to his rallies. So, the truth will be out on June 4.”

This Lok Sabha election is a do-or-die battle for Harsimrat to retain the Bathinda seat, making it important for the party’s survival and prestige. The SAD is contesting alone without its ally BJP. During her campaign, Harsimrat reminded the electorate of the work done by Badal. Harsimrat first won in 2009 when the SAD-BJP was in power in the state.

She is not only contesting without the BJP’s support but also without SAD’s senior leaders, including Sikandar Singh Maluka and Darshan Singh Kotfatta. The duo, including Congress candidate Jeet Mohinder Sidhu, used to be in charge of three Assembly segments, but they are no more with the SAD.