With just three days left for filing of nominations for the Rajya Sabha seat, former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral’s son and Delhi-based exporter Naresh Gujral is emerging as the unanimous choice of the ruling SAD(B)-BJP combine in Punjab. A member of SAD’s Parliamentary Affairs Committee (PAC), Naresh Gujral had actively canvassed for SAD in the run-up to the Assembly polls. He was also a member of the manifesto committee of the Akalis. By nominating Gujral, the ruling SAD will get a Hindu face in the Upper House. Shiromani Akali Dal secretary and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s confidant, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, the other contender for the Rajya Sabha seat, which fell vacant after the death of Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder late last year, is considered a political lightweight as compared to Gujral who contested the last Lok Sabha polls from Jalandhar, albeit unsuccessfully. Although sources in the SAD(B) say Cheema was reportedly denied the Assembly ticket from Sri Hargobindpur that he had been angling for on the assurance that he would be given a berth in the RS, Badal himself has been veering towards Gujral of late. “Naresh commands influence across party lines in Delhi which will help the alliance in the state. Besides, his father Inder Kumar Gujral and Badal have great regard for each other,” said a SAD leader. I K Gujral was a prominent figure at the swearing-in ceremony of the SAD-BJP combine. The Punjab Assembly session which started this afternoon is expected to decide on Gujral’s candidature tomorrow. This Rajya Sabha seat till recently was with the Congress and will now go to the SAD-BJP combine which is in majority. Naresh Gujral, who expressed ignorance over his name doing the rounds for the Rajya Sabha seat, told The Indian Express today that he had been handling the election affairs of his father and former PM I K Gujral. “Serving the people comes naturally to our family. I believe in living with dignity and will honour any responsibility,” he said. Gujral runs an orphanage and a school for the poor at Jalandhar. A graduate of St Stephen’s College, he’s also worked as fashion designer for Schlumburger in Paris.
