Voting for Punjab’s Bathinda Lok Sabha seat will be held in the 7th and final phase on Saturday, June 1. Bathinda is a stronghold of Shiromani Akali Dal. Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been winning the elections from here for three consecutive times. She is in the fray for the fourth time. She is contesting against Aam Aadmi Party’s Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, Congress’ Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann)’s Lakha Sidhana and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parampal Kaur Sidhu. A total of 18 candidates are trying their political luck here.
BJP has never been in the electoral fight here, so there is no discussion about it in this election. Although Harsimrat Kaur Badal seems to be firm on her position, yet Congress and AAP are seen challenging her. The reason for the challenge is that the margin of victory of Harsimrat Kaur in the last two elections is very less. Congress and AAP are claiming that by bridging this gap, this seat will be snatched from SAD this time. Apart from this, there has been an alliance between BJP and SAD here till now, but this time BJP is contesting the election independently. This will definitely have some effect on Shiromani Akali Dal.
In the 2019 elections, Harsimrat Kaur Badal got 41.52 percent of the total votes, i.e. 4.90 lakh votes. Congress’s Amrinder Singh Raja got 39 percent, i.e. 4.69 lakh votes. In this way, Kaur won this seat by 21,772 votes.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Harsimrat Kaur Badal got 5.14 lakh votes and Congress’s Manpreet Singh Badal got 4.95 lakh votes. SAD won by just 19,395 votes. Whereas in the 2009 elections, Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s victory margin was 1,20,948 votes.
Talking about Bathinda Lok Sabha seat, initially Congress had control over it. Congress won four Lok Sabha elections from 1952 to 1957. After Congress, this seat came under the control of Akali Dal. Dhanna Singh Gulshan of Akali Dal won the 1962 election. In the 1967 Lok Sabha election, Akali Dal (Sant Group) won from here. Since 1996, Shiromani Akali Dal has been in control of this seat. In between, once in 1999, Communist Party of India candidate Bhan Singh Bhura won. Paramjit Kaur Gulshan of SAD won the 2004 election. After her, Harsimrat Kaur has been winning continuously.
There are nine assembly seats in Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency – Bathinda City, Bathinda Rural, Bhucho Mandi, Talwandi Sabo, Maur, Mansa, Sardulgarh, Budhlada and Lambi.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a three-time MP from Bathinda seat, is the daughter-in-law of former Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and wife of former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. She is known for her aggressive attitude. She has held many positions in the Government of India, including the Minister of Food Processing Industries. But in 2020, she resigned from her post in protest against the 3 new agricultural laws passed by the central government.
Harsimrat Kaur was born on 25 July 1966 in Delhi to Satyajit Singh Majithia. She completed her schooling from Loreto Convent School, Delhi. She has a diploma in textile design. Her brother Bikram Singh Majithia is a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal and a former MLA.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been citing the establishment of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a central university in the region and other projects as her achievements in the election campaign.
Tags: Bathinda Lok Sabha election, Lok Sabha Elections, punjab news, Shiromani Akali Dal
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 26, 2024, 15:19 IST