Preneet Kaur: Four-time MP who remains accessible, but has lost close aide

Later, in November, she went against Congress and voted against TMC MP Mohua Moitra, in favour of her expulsion from the Parliament. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, contesting from the Congress party, Preneet won the Patiala seat by over 1.6 lakh votes defeating Akali Dal’s Surjit Singh Rakhra, who had received 3,69,309 votes. She may face a challenge this time as her aide and former Congress MLA Hardyal Kamboj, who used to be her army general in elections, has not switched sides.

Any private member bill: No

Accessibility of MP: Preneet Kaur is known to keep in touch with her workers and electorate. It is usually stated that she addresses her workers by their first names and is known to attend their functions. But during former CM Amarinder Singh’s tenure, the workers got offended stating that the erstwhile royal family had become inaccessible. After Amarinder lost the 2022 Assembly election from his Patiala (Urban) Assembly segment, is it said that Preneet has become more accessible.

Constituency profile: A pocket borough of Amarinder’s family till 2014, when Dr Dharamvira Gandhi defeated Preneet Kaur, Patiala has been with her for 20 years. Patiala Lok Sabha constituency comprises nine Assembly segments of Nabha, Patiala rural, Rajpura, Dera Bassi, Ghanaur, Sanour, Patiala (urban), Samana and Shutrana. All nine seats are represented by Aam Aadmi Party MLAs. An erstwhile Royal city, Patiala is known for Patiala peg, jutti, parandi and Patiala salwar. It has several architectural marvels, including Qila Mubarak, Moti Bagh Palace, Sheesh Mahal, and Bahadurgarh Fort. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, grandfather of Amarinder Singh, was one of the most controversial and colourful royal. A sports university exists in his name in Patiala. Patiala gets flooded sometimes due to its Badi Nadi. As a part of an old ritual, the scion of royal family offers traditional nath and chura to Badi Nadi. It is believed that this ritual helps in mitigating floods. The ritual was performed by Preneet Kaur last year as Amarinder was away.

Candidates in fray: BJP candidate Preneet Kaur is locked in a four-cornered contest with two doctors, and a realtor. While Dr Dharamvira Gandhi has been fielded by the Congress, Dr Balbir Singh has got an AAP ticket. SAD has chosen NK Sharma as its candidate for the seat.

Compiled by Kanchan Vasdev