Lok Sabha polls: ‘Beyond comprehension’, retorts Bansal camp after Chandigarh Cong chief bats for ‘new face’

“Pawan Bansal has done a lot for the city. He has done immense work. It is just that sometimes you have to think about the organisation’s interest…how to make Chandigarh win,” Lucky told The Indian Express.

Lucky said he was only the messenger conveying “the voices of the members within the organisation”. “Bansal ji will remain a prominent leader who has worked hard in doing a lot for the city… it was my opinion, shared by other members too, that a new face is required.”

A senior leader speaking on the condition of anonymity said, “All these years, the Congress president has always supported Bansal ji because it was Bansal who laid the strong foundation (for the party) here in Chandigarh. But this was beyond comprehension…that the president would bat for a new face knowing what all he (Bansal) has done for the city and that there can’t be a stronger candidate than him”.

The leader was quick to point out that Lucky himself had lost the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls on four occasions. “So he should not say anything about bringing in new faces,” the leader added.

Sachin Galav, councillor and president of NSUI Chandigarh, said that there can be no competition for Bansal as “what he has done for the city and the way he is accessible remains unmatched”.

“ There are some people who say a fresh face or a young face is required. I just want to ask them what is their contribution for the city of Chandigarh? Jis young face ki baat karte hain., sivaye internal politics ke unki koi contribution nahi hai (Those who talk about young face are the ones who have no contribution to the party other than doing internal politics). No one knows them beyond a sector,” Galav added.

“People have such fondness for Pawan Bansal because of what he made Chandigarh today. Just being born in Chandigarh does not qualify for a candidature,” he further said.

Galav said the former union minister made Chandigarh ‘City Beautiful’ and was also responsible for Shatabdi train coming to the UT. “No one can even reach one per cent of what Bansal has done for the city and they talk of bringing a new face. A new face is brought when the previous person did nothing but here if there is someone who can defeat BJP it is Bansal. It will be suicidal to field someone else. Today, anyone can walk into his residence for any problem. He is always been accessible and that is the first thing Chandigarh residents want,” the NSUI president said.

Bansal has remained the MP from Chandigarh four times. He got elected in 1991 and then for three consecutive terms – 1999, 2004 and 2009. Prior to that, from 1984 to 1990, he remained a member of the Rajya Sabha. Bansal has held various key portfolios in the union cabinet, including that of water resources, parliamentary affairs, science and technology and earth sciences, and railways.

While Bansal has been banking on his strong roots in Chandigarh to tilt the balance in his favour, Tewari, the sitting MP from Anandpur Sahib, is counting on the winnability quotient as Bansal lost the last two elections to BJP MP Kirron Kher. In fact, of the eight occasions that Bansal got a ticket, he won four elections and lost four.