Before poll rout, Akalis and BJP filled their tanks

Back to Punjab, where the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal were in power till February this year. That accounts for a neat division of the spoils...

Back to Punjab, where the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal were in power till February this year. That accounts for a neat division of the spoils, beneficiaries including the relative of a key aide to then CM Parkash Singh Badal and the son of the state RSS chief. The list:

PART XV – PUNJAB

1. Jai Jeet Singh Jauhal: LPG agency at Ferozepur. His brother-in-law is Manpreet Badal, Gidderbaha MLA and nephew of Prakash Singh Badal. Denying the allegation of having exercised political influence, Jauhal said he was allotted the agency purely on grounds of merit.

2. Varinder Deep Singh Bedi: LPG agency at Qadian in Gurdaspur district. Bedi’s father, Brij Bhushan Bedi, is the RSS chief in Punjab.
3. Jasvir Kaur: Pump at Ghataron in Nawanshahr. She’s a daughter-in-law of former Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Balwant Singh Shahpur.
4. Manjit Kaur: Pump at Ranwan in Fatehgarh Sahib district. She’s the daughter-in-law of Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Libra.
5. U.R. Aggarwal: Pump in Nawanshahr. Her husband, Sardari Lal, is a senior BJP leader and was the party’s district chief in 2000. Lal denies this: ‘‘I have never been associated with the BJP and never been the district BJP president. The petrol pump to my wife was alloted purely on merit.’’
6. Narinder Singh: Pump at Bariar in Gurdaspur district. His father, Darshan Singh, is a staunch Congress supporter; he says his son took the support of then BJP MLA Roop Rani in getting the petrol pump.
7. Manmohan Singh: LPG agency at Jagraon in Ludhiana district. He has close links with SAD (Badal) MLA from Jagraon, Bhag Singh Mallah.
8. Parminder Kaur: LPG agency at Khanna in Ludhiana district. Close to an IAS officer attached to a Union minister from the state.
9. Raj Kumar: Pump in Abohar. Kumar’s brother is an employee of local BJP leader Vijay Lakshmi Bhatu. However, Raj Kumar denied any links with Bhatu and said he got the pump on merit.
10. Kavita Rani: LPG agency at Abohar in Ferozepur. Her sister Usha Rani is a BSP leader and municipal councillor.

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