Mohali’s Kharar may see AAP, Cong fielding fresh faces for 2022 Punjab polls

The Kharar Assembly constituency, for example, which was won by Kanwar Sandhu of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 2017 Assembly polls, this time may see a fresh face contesting the polls. AAP’s Gagan Anmol Mann has been working in the constituency for the last one and a half years and will be a prime contender for the party ticket from the constituency.

Likewise, the Congress too may look for a fresh, younger face from the seat, though party insiders strongly believe that veteran Congress leader Jagmohan Singh Kang, will be a strong contender for the ticket.

“Yes, the possibility of fielding a younger candidate from Kharar has not been ruled out yet. At this point of time, it is too early to say anything definitive but there is a strong possibility that the party may go with a young candidate,” a party source said.

Congress sources also said with Chief Minister, Charanjit Singh Channi, at the helm of the state, the party might also try and milk this connection in favour of a fresh face from Kharar. Channi is an MLA from Chamkaur Sahib constituency and is a native of Bhajauli village, near Kharar.
“The party is likely to use the CM connection while fielding a new face from Kharar this time around,” a party leader said, requesting anonymity.

In 2017, the SAD fielded builder-turned-politician Ranjeet Singh Gill at the last moment from the seat and he had managed to garner than 40,000 votes. The AAP’s Kanwar Sandhu, however then, had bagged the seat by beating Congress’ Jagmohan Singh Kang — a former Cabinet minister — by a slim margin of around 2000 votes.

The SAD this time has already declared Ranjeet Gill as the candidate from Kharar, throwing down the gauntlet for the AAP and the Congress to field fresh faces too from the Assembly seat which is the biggest in the district with the highest number of voters.