Most couples who contested Punjab civic polls emerge victorious

Three couples contested the polls for the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation, one for the Phagwara Municipal Corporation and one each for the Baba Bakala and Khanauri nagar panchayats.

Former mayor Jagdish Raj Raja and his wife, former senior deputy mayor Anita Raja. (Image: Instagram)

4 min readLudhianaDec 24, 2024 05:40 PM IST First published on: Dec 24, 2024 at 05:39 PM IST

Political parties in Punjab fielded several couples for elections to five municipal corporations and 41 municipal councils/nagar panchayats. Despite facing criticism from their rivals, most of such candidates won the December 21 civic polls.

Of six such couples whose results The Indian Express reviewed, four emerged winners. Three couples were given the tickets by the AAP and by the Congress, while two were independents. Three couples contested the polls for the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation, one for the Phagwara Municipal Corporation and one each for the Baba Bakala and Khanauri nagar panchayats. Here’s a look at the couples.

Jagdish Raj Raja and Anita Raja

Party: AAP
Jalandhar Municipal Corporation
Status: both lost

In Jalandhar, former mayor Jagdish Raj Raja and his wife, former senior deputy mayor Anita Raja, delivered a significant shock to the Congress when they switched to the AAP on December 10 after more than three decades in Congress. Jagdish, a five-time Congress councillor, served as mayor of Jalandhar from 2017 to 2022, while Anita is a three-time councillor.

Jagdish lost from ward number 64 to the BJP’s Rajiv Dhingra, while Anita Raja lost to Congress’s Parveen Vasan from ward number 65. Their winning streak was broken after their shift from the Congress to the AAP. However, the couple received a rude shock when Parveen Vasan, who defeated Anita, was inducted into the AAP on Sunday as the party seeks to bolster its numbers, having secured 38 councillors compared to the 43 needed for a majority.

Balbir Singh Bittu and Karamjeet Kaur

Party: AAP
Jalandhar Municipal Corporation
Status: both won

Balbir Singh Bittu, a former Shiromani Akali Dal councillor, switched to the AAP in Jalandhar ahead of the civic polls along with his wife Karamjeet Kaur. Both were given tickets from wards number 10 and 11 respectively by the AAP and they both won. The couple will now serve in the corporation together for the first time.

Paramjot Singh Sherry Chadha and Prabhjot Kaur Chadha

Party: Congress
Jalandhar Municipal Corporation
Status: both won

The Congress nominated only one couple in Jalandhar: Paramjot Singh Sherry Chadha and his wife, Prabhjot Kaur Chadha, from wards number 28 and 27 respectively. Although their campaign was marred by controversies, with accusations of the party not giving enough chances to workers while promoting families, Prabhjot Kaur defeated Arvinder Kaur Oberoi, who was senior deputy mayor during the SAD-BJP government. Paramjot Singh defeated the BJP’s Radhika Pathak.

Davinder Sapra and Rupali Sapra

Independents
Phagwara Municipal Corporation
Status: both won

Davinder Sapra, a well-known realtor in Phagwara, and his wife Rupali Sapra have been contesting municipal corporation polls in the city since 2002, achieving success each time. They won in 2002, 2007 and 2012 in municipal council polls, and again in 2014 when Phagwara was upgraded to a municipal corporation. In 2024, they won for the record fifth time, with Davinder contesting from ward number 12 and Rupali from ward number 13.

The Congress, BJP, SAD and the BSP did not field candidates in these wards, resulting in a direct contest between the couple and the AAP. Davinder defeated Seema Rana while Rupali beat Raghbir Kaur. As the Congress falls short of a majority in Phagwara by four seats, the Sapra couple is now highly sought after. In the 50-ward civic body, the Congress has 22 seats, the AAP 12, the BJP 4 and the SAD and the BSP three seats each, besides six independents.

Surjit Singh Kang and Sukhjit Kaur Kang

Party: AAP
Baba Bakala nagar panchayat (Amritsar)
Status: both won

Surjit Singh Kang, a founding AAP member, has been with the party since 2012 and serves as the constituency in-charge of Baba Bakala. This time, the AAP gave him a ticket from ward number 12 of the Baba Bakala nagar panchayat, while his wife Sukhjit Kaur Kang contested from ward number 13. Both emerged victorious. There are 13 wards in the nagar panchayat and the AAP has won in all of them. Sukhjit is now the top contender for the civic body’s presidency.

Anarkali and Satpal

Independents
Khanauri Nagar Panchayat (Sangrur)
Status: both lost

Anarkali contested from ward 8 of the Khanauri nagar panchayat while her husband Satpal ran from ward number 9. Both wards are reserved for Scheduled Castes. The husband and wife were independent candidates and lost the polls. Anarkali received only 36 votes, while her husband got 172 votes. Satpal was a Shiromani Akali Dal councillor in 2012, while his wife was a Congress councillor in 2017.