Lok Sabha Polls 2024: 4-cornered Ferozepur puzzle
Lok Sabha Polls 2024: 4-cornered Ferozepur puzzle
Ferozepur, May 12, 2024: Spread across three districts of Punjab – Ferozepur, Muktsar and Fazilka – the Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituency, consisting of 9 Assembly segments, is witnessing a four-cornered contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and it could be anybody’s game. Perhaps for the first time in Punjab in its political journey, Punjab will witness a four-cornered contest in the Lok Sabha elections due on June 1 in the seventh and final phase of the polls.
The 4-corner contest results from a breakdown in the alliance between the SAD and BJP. Hardly a few days are available for campaigning in the constituency. With the entry of AAP during the Assembly elections in Punjab with the unexpected majority, the political landscape in Punjab has changed dramatically in its favour. However, the domination is also there by SAD, BJP and Congress parties.
In the Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituency, there are 16,70,309 voters plus 4950 servicevotes, 9100 PwD voters, 13365 senior citizens 85 plus and 101 visually impaired, in 9 Assembly constituencies. In 2014, Sher Singh Ghubaya won with a margin of 31,420 votes as SAD candidate but lost in 2019 to Sukhbir Singh Badal SAD with a difference of 1,98,850 votes.
The Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat has 9 Assembly constituencies represented by 8 Aam Admi Party MLAs – Ranveer Singh Bhullar Ferozepur Rural, Rajnish Dahiya Ferozepur Urban, Faouja Singh Sarari Guruharsahai, Jagdeep Kamboj Jalalabad, Narinderpal Singh Sawna Fazilka, Amandeep Singh Goldy Musafir Balluana, Dr Baljit Kaur Malout and Jageep Singh Kaka Brar Muktsar barring Abohar where Sandeep Jakhar is Congress MLA.
All four major political parties have fielded their candidates – BJP Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Congress Sher Singh Ghubaya, AAP Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar, SAD Nardev Singh Bobby Mann. In addition, another major candidate is Fouji Angrez Singh an Independent candidate denied the ticket by Aam Aadmi Party. Another national party, BSP, has also fielded its candidate from Jalalabad Surinder Kamboj, the father of AAP MLA Goldy Kamboj. SAD(Amritsar) has nominated Bhupinder Singh Bhullar as its candidate who is a retired Police official and father of a slain gangster. Jaskaran Singh Kahan Singh Wala has also announced a contest from Ferozepur as an SAD(Fateh) candidate.
CANDIDATES IN FRAY
Rana Sodhi, a 4-time MLA (2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017) from the Guruharsahai Assembly constituency and one-time Sports Minister and Chief Whip of the CLP in Punjab, also from the Congress Party and now switched over to BJP. He is a special invitee to the BJP national executive. BJP is hoping to have support from 38 per cent Hindu population on break down of the alliance with SAD by keeping in hand the national level support of the Ram Temple blessing, the Opening of the Katarpur Corridor, the announcement of the birth anniversaries of the Sikh Gurus and the Veer Bal Divas and commemorating the martyrdom of the sons of 10th Guru Gobind Singh and with the start of local major project of PGI Satellite Centre in Ferozepur. But he has a challenge from SAD on the breakdown of the alliance with BJP and farmers are also protesting.
Nardev Singh Bobby Mann is the son of Zora Singh Mann, who is an SAD candidate too claims of support of its supporters in breaking of alliance with the BJP on farmer’s agitation besides wanted a resolution of Bandi Singhs (jailed Sikhs) as part of the pre-poll deal. Another reason was the latest farmers’ protest as the BJP government in neighbouring Haryana did not allow the farmers to move forward up to Delhi. This sharpened the anti-BJP sentiment among the rural Sikh population, the main vote bank of SAD. None has opened an account as a SAD candidate as the people are angry with the few visits to his constituency as MP. Booby Mann has the experience with his father Zora Singh Mann who remained MP for three terms and SAD has 39 years of good vote bank on this seat.
Jagdip Singh Kaka Brar, is MLA from Muktsar is hopeful of having the support of 8 AAP MLAs in the constituency. Of crucial factors here is that 8 AAP MLAs in the Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituency can play a vital role in supporting the AAP candidate Kaka Brar, MLA from Muktsar, who had their personal vote bank now, after winning the seats. The winning chances for Kaka Brar as the AAP candidate will be bright. Even if there is not much campaign by himself in each segment of the constituency. Now the AAP is to see how much ground it continues to retain in the face of anti-incumbency. He is considered an outsider.
Sher Singh Ghubaya who is a Congress candidate, was MP in 2009 and 2014. Now, it is for the Congress as to how much it can be instrumental in converting the votes for the party on the alleged failure of governance of AAP. He has political experience and has good rapport with his community in the border villages and his son Davinder Dhubaya had also won the Assembly seat from Fazilka.
However, BSP has also announced its candidate and Fouji Angrez Singh – a loyalist of AAP, on denying the ticket- has filed his nomination as an Independent candidate. Congress has played the card of the Rai Sikh community by fielding Sher Singh Ghubaya, who started his career as SAD MLA from Jalalabad in 1997 and after Zora Singh Mann’s death; he won in 2009 and 2014. But for the third time, he lost in 2019 from a Congress ticket.
Among the major political parties, the AAP candidate is Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar, MLA from Muktsar, Congress candidate is Sher Singh Ghubaya who was MP in 2009 with 47.11 per cent votes (4,50,900) defeating Jagmeet Singh Brar of Congress who got 4,29,829 (44.91 per cent votes) and again in 2014 got 4,87,932 (44.13 per cotes) defeating Sunil Kumar Jakhar who got 4,56,512 (1.29% votes) but lost in 2019, by getting 4,34,577 votes (37.08 per cent) from Sukhbir Singh Badal who got 6,33,427 (54.05 per cent votes) by 1,98,550 votes difference. , SAD(B) is Nardev Singh Bobby Mann and BJP is yet to decide on its candidate.
The Ferozepur constituency has a major vote bank of Rai Sikh and Kamboj communities along the border belt, which could be a deciding factor for this seat. It is also said that the voting in MP elections is for the party and not the candidates. Long back hold of SAD on this seat say out of 18 elections, 11 times SAD candidate had won, Ferozepur has also influenced two Deras during the last two decades. Now, it is to be seen whether SAD maintain its magic status or not during the current elections. The outcome is in the womb of the future but with the announcement of all the four candidates’ major political parties, the fight looks to be becoming interesting. All three candidates of Congress, BJP and SAD have vote banks in the border belt villages reducing the margin to win.
