Sons, wives, brothers: For ruling AAP, it’s all within the family for Ludhiana MC polls

Once a critic of dynastic politics, the AAP has allocated several tickets to the sons, wives, brothers of its MLAs in Ludhiana.
Atam Nagar MLA Kulwant Singh Sidhu’s son Yuvraj Singh Sidhu, 28, a lawyer, has been given the ticket. He will be contesting his second MC election after he lost the previous one on the Congress ticket.

Dr Sukhchain Bassi, AAP candidate while campaigning with her MLA husband Gurpreet Gogi. CM Mann took out roadshow in her ward. (Express photo)

Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi, who also lost the recent Lok Sabha election from Ludhiana, has got two tickets for his family. His brother Rakesh Parashar, an ex-Congressman and five-time councillor, has again been given the AAP ticket. Pappi’s wife Meenu Parashar has too been given the AAP ticket.

Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Gogi’s wife Dr Sukhchain Bassi is also among AAP candidates, and so is Ludhiana North MLA Madan Lal Bagga’s son Aman Bagga Khurana, 44, a graduate who handles his father’s arhtiya business. He is contesting his first election.

With the polling for Ludhiana MC polls scheduled for December 21, CM Mann held a roadshow in the city on the last day of the campaigning. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)

Mann took out the roadshow in Gogi’s constituency.

Taking a dig at “parivaarwaad” and VIP culture in AAP, Union Minister Bittu, who has been campaigning for BJP, said: “CM saab was in Ludhiana today… I also saw his roadshow. I was surprised.. He used to talk about aam aadmi.. and today he was standing all alone in the front vehicle. This is the same man who used to take a dig at Captain Amarinder Singh for promoting VIP culture. Their own state president Aman Arora was in another vehicle far away, and then after Arora’s vehicle, came the one having our local Ludhiana MLAs whose kin have been given tickets.”

“This party used to talk against giving tickets within family and today Mann saab only campaigned for the family members of his own MLAs: Gogi’s wife, Pappi’s wife, brother.. Bagga’s son.. Sidhu’s son…People must be thinking that this man’s own words did not match his actions. You must have brought (Arvind) Kejriwal along today to see all this.. Where are your volunteers today? Your own state president Aman Arora cannot stand next to the CM. He was waiting that the CM might give him a chance to stand next to him for a minute. I was feeling bad seeing the condition of a senior leader like Arora,” said Bittu.

“The fact that entire AAP leadership was made to ride in separate vehicles reflects CM’s apparent disregard for them. Why can’t they stand with the CM in same vehicle? Today, CM only campaigned for family members of their own MLAs, including wives, sons and brothers. Where were the AAP volunteers? Even volunteers of AAP know that it is no more a party of commoners, but that of privileged.”

Aman Bagga Khurana, son of MLA Madan Lal Bagga, while campaigning in his ward. (Express photo)

In the recently held Lok Sabha polls, the AAP had failed to win any of the nine Assembly segments in Ludhiana, despite having its MLAs in all of them. While five segments (all urban) were won by the BJP, four were won by the Congress.

AAP contesting all 95 wards

For the 95-member Ludhiana Municipal Corporation House polls, while the AAP is contesting in all 95 wards, the BJP has fielded its candidates in 90, the Congress in 94 and the SAD in 78.
Opposition parties have claimed that their nominations were either rejected due to “high- handedness” of the AAP government or their candidates could not complete process in time due to less time.