Jarnail Singh (above) is contesting from Rajouri Garden, while the other Jarnail Singh is contesting from Tilak Nagar
In the 2014 general elections, AAP candidate from West Delhi, Jarnail Singh, lost his maiden election to BJP legislator Parvesh Sahib Singh. He secured 3,82,809 votes and stood second. Surprisingly, in the race, were two other “independent” Jarnail Singhs — who secured over 90,000 votes.
In the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls, Singh is contesting from West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden. This time too, he will face two other Jarnail Singhs.
“This is a concerted effort by the BJP to cut into my votes. They are in no way serious candidates — they do not campaign nor are their posters found anywhere in the constituency. This is being done just to confuse voters and manipulate them on voting day. To prove my claim — in the Lok Sabha elections — the two independent Jarnail Singhs got more than 90,000 votes. This time two more Jarnail Singhs have been propped up,” the AAP candidate said.
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Singh is a former journalist-turned-social activist, who had hurled a shoe at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
“Everyone knows I am a popular face in West Delhi. I have been fighting for justice for the anti-Sikh riots victims. People vote for me, not just because I belong to the AAP but also because I am a known face. This is the only reason why the BJP is taking the advantage of the blanks in the electoral lists. The Election Commission needs to fix this,
Singh said, adding that there is a need to spread awareness amongst voters.
Challenging the AAP candidate in Rajouri Garden, is a 57-year old businessman and a 60-year old mechanic — both with the same name as Singh.
The 57-year-old businessman, who deals with manufacturing stationary items, says he is contesting the polls to “bring change”.
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“I had contested a local election in the gurdwara school. This time, I decided to contest the Assembly elections because I feel I have the right qualities to help people, understand their problems and bring change,” the businessman said.
When asked if he was contesting to cut into the votes of AAP’s Jarnail Singh, he said, “This is a democracy and anyone has the right to contest elections.”
However, the mechanic claimed he has no “agenda” for these elections. “This is my first time. I have no particular agenda. We are independents, na hum idhar ke hain na udhar ke hain. Dekhte hain kya hota hain,” he said.
Asked if he is contesting to cut into the votes of the AAP, he said, “Log andhein nahi hain (people are not blind), they will think before they vote.”
West Delhi’s Tilak Nagar also faces this peculiar situation of more than one Jarnail Singh contesting polls. Former AAP MLA from Tilak Nagar Jarnail Singh will contest against 42-year old Jarnail Singh — a resident from Mundka who is engaged in “private service”.
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“This is being done to mislead the voters. In the previous elections, candidates with similar symbols were assigned, due to which I lost a significant number of votes. This time people with similar names are contesting. These are fake candidates,” the former AAP MLA said.
However, the 42-year old Singh claims he has “significant support” in the constituency.
“I am contesting for the first time. However, Tilak Vihar, which constitutes a major percentage of votes in Tilak Nagar, supports me. Ab haarna, jiitna bhagwaan ke haath main hai (winning or loosing is in God’s hand).”
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
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Jarnail Singh (above) is contesting from Rajouri Garden, while the other Jarnail Singh is contesting from Tilak Nagar
