Punjab Polls: Drug menace, lack of development major issues for this border district

Fifth Sikh Guru master Arjan Dev ji constructed one of the largest sarovar in Tarn Taran and the city came up around it. The historical Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Tarn Tarn sits in the centre of the city which is made of narrow, winding lanes and old markets. It was one of the few cities of Punjab before partition, which had majority Sikh population.

The city’s economy is fuelled by the neighbouring villages as it has no industry of its own and depends on Amritsar for jobs and other opportunities.

Sitting MLA
Dr Dharambir Agnihotri (Congress)

Previous MLAs
2012: Harmeet Singh Sandhu (SAD)
2007: Harmeet Singh Sandhu (SAD)
2002: Harmeet Singh Sandhu (SAD)

Candidates

Congress’ Dr Dharambir Agnihotri is the first Hindu legislator from this constituency which remained a stronghold of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for a long time. Apart from the challenge from SAD, Gandhi is also facing challenges from within Congress as many leaders wanted to replace him and are unlikely to help him after failing to get the ticket.

Three-time MLA Harmeet Singh and SAD candidate was about to shift to Khadoor Sahib before the party again fielded him from Tarn Taran. Akali Dal is hoping that Harmeet would get this panthic constituency back, which it lost due to the shifting of party votes to AAP in 2017.

AAP has replaced its candidate on the seat and fielded Kashmir Singh Sohal, a retired senior medical officer. Sohal would need a big wave in favour of AAP to win the seat as last time the party helped Congress win the seat by eating into SAD share. Former BJP minister Anil Joshi had a strong influence in Tarn Taran, but he has now joined SAD and is contesting on the party ticket from Amritsar North. So BJP is starting from scratch in Tarn Taran and has fielded Navrat Singh Shafipura with no big hopes.

Issues

Tarn Taran is an old city with narrow roads. The traffic problem is a big issue here. The town is also divided into many parts due to railway lines cross-crossing it. Even75 years after independence, Tarn Taran is dependent on the nearest city of Amritsar for job opportunities and has hardly any industry of its own.

Khemkaran (General)

Touching the Indo-Pak border, this constituency was changed from Valtoha to Khemkaran in 2008. The constituency is purely rural. It is also the highway for the smuggling of drugs and weapons. Agriculture is the main profession of its inhabitants. Traditionally this area was considered close to Lahore and people here are known for their good heart and short temper.

Sitting MLA
Sukhpal Singh Bhullar (Congress)

Previous MLAs
2012: Virsa Singh Valtoha (SAD)
2007: Virsa Singh Valtoha (SAD)
2002: Gurchet Singh Bhullar (Congress)

Candidates

Virsa Singh Valtoha of SAD is the most active politician in Khemkaran. The Constituency saw some development in terms of road network during his 10-year term as an MLA. His candidature on the seat was challenged by former SAD minister Adesh Partap Singh Karion, but the party president Sukhbir Singh Badal was quick to snub his brother-in-law and announce the ticket for Valtoha. Infighting in Congress is good news for Valtoha due to which Congress has not announced its candidate yet.

Former Congress leader Sarwan Singh Dhun has been announced as AAP’s candidate from this segment. It would be interesting to see if Dhun can win the seat for AAP or just turn it into a narrow contest between the SAD and Congress candidate.

Issues

Smuggling and consumption of drugs have remained a major issue in Khemkaran and SAD had to pay a heavy price for it during the last elections. This problem still persists.

Patti

Patti is another constituency of Tarn Taran touching the Indo-Pak border. It has remained the bastion of the Karion family whose patriarch Partap Singh Kairon is one of the most respected chief ministers of the state. The Patti city has Hindu population whereas its villages have mostly Sikh votes.

Patti also has lots of historical remnants with a 250-year old fort, which is being used as a police station due to the negligence of the authorities. The Patti city is struggling with sanitation problems apart from drug addiction.

Sitting MLA
Harminder Singh Gill (Congress)

Previous MLAs
2012: Adesh Partap Singh Kairon (SAD)
2007: Adesh Partap Singh Kairon (SAD)
2002: Adesh Partap Singh Kairon (SAD)

Candidates

Harminder Singh Gill of Congress defeated heavyweight and sitting minister Adesh Partap Singh Karion in the 2017 elections. Gill remained very active on social media and on the field in his constituency during his tenure as the MLA. He, however, seemed to be struggling in dealing with bureaucracy and police. He managed to bring some development projects to Patti and is hoping that people would forget his inexperience in dealing with government officers and officials.

SAD’s Adesh Partap Karion has an old network in Patti and it is not easy to write him off. But Karion, who is married to Sukhbir Badal’s sister, has always attempted to distance himself from his party and party president Sukhbir Singh Badal and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia. He would be contesting on his own this time.

AAP candidate Laljit Singh Bhullar is a former Congressman and the party is hoping that he would bring some Congress votes in addition to votes of AAP, which damaged SAD in 2017.

Issues

Patti faces the problem of drug addiction and smuggling. Patti town needs a facelift besides attention to its heritage. There are no job opportunities in the town and of late the youth is going to foreign countries in search of work.

Khadoor Sahib (General)

Khadoor Sahib is a constituency which has many historical Gurudwaras related to Sikh Gurus. The first five Sikh Gurus spent a lot of time here. Though the government has failed to convert it into an industrial hub, Goindwal Sahib in Khadoor Sahib has a private power plant. This constituency remained the most affected due to the hooch tragedy of 2020. But surprisingly, hooch is not a big election issue here as both SAD and Congress are trying to lure the hooch tragedy accused into their parties. The river Beas passes through Khadoor Sahib. It’s the cleanest river in the state with a young population of Dolphins.

Sitting MLA
Ramanjit Singh Sikki (Congress)

Previous MLAs
2012: Ramanjit Singh Sikki (Congress)
2007: Manjit Singh Mianwind (SAD)
2002: Manjit Singh Mianwind (SAD)

Candidates

Ramanjit Singh Sikki of Congress is facing many odds due to infighting in the party and his personal financial losses. Sikki had become the Sikh face of Congress party after he resigned from the Punjab assembly following the sacrilege case reported in Bath village of his constituency in 2015. He, however, failed to do anything to ensure justice in the sacrilege case and left the constituency to the care of his personal assistants.

SAD candidate Ranjit Singh Brahmpura’s son had won the seat for SAD in the 2015 by-elections when Congress had boycotted it. Brahmpura family had quit SAD in 2018 only to come back last month and contest elections. This contest would be a battle of survival for the Brahmpura family.

Issues

Goindwal Sahib was supposed to be an industrial hub. But it couldn’t take off even after a private power plant was set up here. The Constituency was hit hard by a hooch tragedy in 2017. Drug and liquor addiction are two main problems here.