Nitin Jain
Tribune news service
Ludhiana, March 25
Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Hardeep Singh Mundian, 46, scripted history by winning the rural Assembly seat Sahnewal in Ludhiana district by defeating the two-time sitting SAD legislator and former minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, who ended third in a triangular contest. Except the SAD and the Congress nominees, all other 16 candidates in the poll fray lost their security deposits as they failed to garner even 16.67 per cent of the total polled votes.
Eradicate drug menace
We will also eradicate the widespread drug menace, and improve education and health facilities, apart from upgrading infrastructure. —Hardeep Singh Mundian, AAP MLA
A matriculate businessman, dealing in building material and running a hotel, Mundian had switched over to AAP a few months ago after his previous stints in the Congress and Lok Insaaf Party (LIP). He had also contested as an Independent candidate in the past. In the recently concluded elections, Mundian polled 61,515 votes, which accounted for 34.33 per cent of the total 1,79,196 votes polled. He defeated the Congress nominee Vikram Singh Bajwa, 51, son-in-law of former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who got 46,322 votes, constituting 25.85 per cent of the total votes polled.
“The AAP government will cleanse the corrupt system and provide pro-people governance to fulfil all the pre-poll promises made by the party,” the new MLA said.
“I got a massive response from people as they were fed up with bad governance and corrupt system during the successive governments run by the traditional parties.”
“We will also eradicate the widespread drug menace and improve education, health facilities and upgrade infrastructure besides ensuring better basic civic amenities to all,” the first-time MLA stressed.
Sahnewal was part of Koom Kalan and Ludhiana Rural Assembly segments till 2007, before being carved out as an independent constituency following the delimitation in 2009. It had elected SAD’s Sharanjit Singh Dhillon in the past both elections held in 2017 and 2012.
Will cleanse system, fulfil poll promises, says MLA
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