With the BJP deciding to contest elections from all the Assembly seats this time, it has started looking for candidates in Mohali. This is the first time that the BJP will contest the elections alone in the constituency. After the repeal of three controversial farm laws, the local leaders of the party have heaved a sigh of relief. Now the party is looking for a local candidate to reach out to the local population. According to sources, the party could consider the names of former District Planning Committee chairperson and former Union minister Balwant Singh Ramoowali’s daughter Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia who had joined the party three months ago. “She is local and has already worked in the constituency when she was the chairperson. Her name could be considered for the candidature from Mohali. It is too early to say anything as the top party leadership is discussing the seat-sharing arrangements with other people. But yes there are some candidates, likely local, who could be fielded,” a source said. City-based businessman Sanjeev Vashisht has already started meeting people and attending local functions to present himself as a potential candidate. Sources said that if the seat goes in the BJP’s kitty, a party’s senior leader could also be fielded but the party’s former municipal councillors have demanded fielding a local candidate. “Congress always had an edge over its rivals as it always fielded a local candidate. SAD and AAP failed to do that. It is one of the reasons that the Congress managed to win the seat twice. Our party does not want to repeat the same mistake,” said a party insider. The BJP and SAD were in alliance in the state and the SAD used to contest from Mohali.
