Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Qadian (Gurdaspur), 6 December
The Bajwa brothers – Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Singh Bajwa and sitting Qadian MLA Fateh Jung Bajwa – have put themselves on a collision course with Qadian claiming their home seat. Pratap’s Rajya Sabha term ends in April next year, a month after the formation of the new Punjab Assembly. Though he had indicated on several occasions that he would contest the assembly elections, he today announced his chosen seat – Qadian – and claimed that he had received a “green signal” from the high command. Incidentally, the AICC today appointed Pratap as the chairman of the Congress Manifesto Committee for Punjab.
Responding to the development, Fateh said that he failed to understand “what his brother was doing”. “I have stood with him through thick and thin. Whatever it is, the lower he goes, the higher I go. Let me tell her that I am here to stay. I will contest from Qadian and it is final.
Last week, Fateh held an impressive rally in Kahanuwan, which was attended by PCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu and Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla. Not only was it seen as a show of strength, but Bajwa Junior also started his campaign with a rally. Pratap distanced himself from the proceedings. Fateh and his son Arjun Pratap, who is a member of Gurdaspur Zilla Parishad, worked hard during Covid. The family’s NGO Satbachan Foundation was at the forefront of distributing Kovid kits among the people during the lockdown. The father-son duo went from village to village to motivate the local people to get vaccinated.
Kadian is the hometown of the Bajwa family. In 2012, Pratap’s wife Charanjit Kaur had won by 16,000 votes. In 2017, Fateh defeated his nearest rival Sewa Singh Sekhwan by 12,000 votes.
Pratap, who has been the PPCC chief, is also a three-time MLA from Kahanuwan, a seat that was rechristened in 2012 after Kadian’s delimitation. He started his career as a student leader in 1976 at DAV College, Chandigarh. In the 2009 general election, he defeated three-time MP and film icon late Vinod Khanna from Gurdaspur by 8,000.
collision course
- Pratap Bajwa claims he has got ‘approval’ of high command to fight Kadian
- Younger brother Fateh Jung says he will contest ‘whatever it is’
- Fateh won in 2017, while Pratap’s wife Charanjit Kaur was the Qadian MLA in 2012.