The Congress on Tuesday ended the suspense on whether or not it is going to contest the much-talked-about by-election in Khadoor Sahib in the border district of Tarn Taran in Punjab. It announced the candidature of former MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki.
The candidature was approved by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, negating suggestions from a section of the party that it should focus on the upcoming Assembly polls rather than wasting energy on electing an MLA whose tenure in will last less than a year.
By-elections are due in Khadoor Sahib on February 13, necessitated by the resignation of Sikki, the sitting MLA, following a series of incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikki resigned in October, and has been incommunicado, apparently because he is doing some religious voluntary work.
“There were feelers from various sections that we should not contest the election. Sikki is a very religious person. Now it is up to him and to the PCC president to decide whether he should contest. But the Congress president has cleared Sikki’s name. As far as I know, he will file the nomination papers on Tuesday,” said Shakeel Ahmad, Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab. The AAP, which has emerged as a significant third player in Punjab, has refused to participate in the by-elections, saying it is focusing on the Assembly elections.
However, Khadoor Sahib has become a matter of prestige for the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which has fielded Ravinder Singh Brahmpura from the constituency. Ravinder is the son of prominent Akali leader Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, who had lost the Assembly election to Sikki in 2012. Ranjit Singh went on to win the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and has now fielded his son from Khadoor Sahib.
The Akalis have been campaigning hard in the constituency, with CM Prakash Singh Badal himself addressing public meetings.