Patiala set to get a new royal? Amarinder’s daughter is star of BJP rally

Kaur’s father was conspicuous by his absence at the rally. Sources close to Captain Amarinder told The Indian Express that he had skipped the rally “on purpose”, so that Kaur — who has been very active in political circles for quite some time now and is the Punjab BJP vice-president — could get the desired spotlight in the constituency.

The Patiala rally was headed by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya, BJP Punjab president Ashwani Sharma, and Jai Inder Kaur. (PTI)

Kaur had joined the BJP along with her father in September last year. She had been nurturing the constituency for her parents, Amarinder Singh and MP Preneet Kaur, before becoming active in the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), which Amarinder had floated in 2021, after being dumped by the Congress as the CM of Punjab. Kaur was appointed vice-president of the party, which Amarinder eventually merged with the BJP in 2022.

In March this year, Kaur was appointed the new president of the Punjab women’s wing of the All India Jat Maha Sabha (AIJMS). She replaced Navjot Kaur Sidhu, the wife of Amarinder’s bête noire, the cricketer-commentator-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu. Kaur is married to Gurpal Singh Sandhawalia, who belongs to the family of “sardars” from Raja Sansi, a clan of landed aristocracy. Her husband is currently living in Delhi.

When Amarinder joined the BJP – he was subsequently inducted to the party’s national executive – there were strong indications that he was likely to push for Kaur’s candidature in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Patiala. If that happens, she will be making her debut in electoral politics.

The Patiala rally was headed by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya, BJP Punjab president Ashwani Sharma, and Kaur.

Addressing the rally, Mandaviya said, “The mood of the people of Patiala has been made clear by this huge gathering, who are impressed by the pro-people policies of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government. The people of Patiala are clearly going to vote and support the BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.”

Kaur, while praising PM Modi for his “historic pro-Sikh decisions”, said during the rally, “No other PM has done more for the Sikh community than Prime Minister Narendra ModiJi. From the opening of the historic Kartarpur corridor that fulfilled a long-standing demand of us Sikhs, to giving justice to the victims of [19]84, to the grand celebrations of the 550th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak DevJi, to marking the shaheedi of the Sahibzades as Veer Bal Diwas, to celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh BahadurJi at the Red Fort — these are some examples of the PM’s love, affection and respect for the Sikhs. As a Sikh, I feel proud to work under the leadership of PM Modi.”

Hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, Kaur said, “The Punjab government has not been able to bring a single new project to Patiala. Instead, every time [CM] Bhagwant Mann comes to Patiala, it is to inaugurate projects that had been by Captain Amarinder SinghJi. After all that, he goes on to say we haven’t done anything for the city. The AAP government has also betrayed the women of our state by not fulfilling its promise of providing Rs 1,000 allowance per month to every woman above the age of 18. The people of the state will teach them a lesson by voting against them in the next Lok Sabha election.”