In Gurdaspur, they term MP Partap Singh Bajwa’s decision to return to state politics as the ‘Return of the Native.’ In Thomas Hardy’s classic, the native is Clym Yeobright who returned to the area to become a schoolmaster after a successful but not so enjoyable career as a jeweller in Paris. Likewise, after spending nearly 11 years in Delhi as a parliamentarian, seasoned politician Partap Singh Bajwa has returned to his roots. Unlike Yeobright, the MP never had a lean period and on the contrary he made the most of his time while in the national capital. The parliamentarian is now trying to find an Assembly seat in his home district of Gurdaspur to ensure he steps into the Vidhan Sabha for the fourth time. In any case, a decade spent in Delhi as an MP of the lower and upper house has not been wasted. He worked for Punjab in his own subtle, but effective way. In his term as Lok Sabha MP from 2009 till 2014, Bajwa tried his level best to bring in the Rail Coach Factory to Kalanaur where 1600 acres of panchayat land is lying vacant. However, some local satraps, whose vision does not go beyond their nose, sabotaged the venture. The then Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda grabbed the opportunity and with help from the government of the day in Delhi, he announced that the employment-generating entity will be established in Sonepat. To cut a long story short, Partap has now returned to state politics. His decision to contest has the concurrence of AICC bigwigs, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Gurdaspur district has seven Assembly seats out of which six are represented by Congress legislators. Batala is the odd man out. The sitting MLA is Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal, who belongs to the SAD. This is the seat which Bajwa is eyeing with keen interest. The only problem for him is that he will have to square off against two powerful claimants-Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and three-time MLA Ashwani Sekhri. An old English adage is ‘if you aspire for something strongly enough, the elements will conspire to ensure you get it.’ The MP has already taken his first steps in this direction. Last week, he managed to get two of his loyalists appointed to key posts in Batala — one as the Chairman of the Improvement Trust and the other as the Chairman of the Market Committee. As for the contenders for the party ticket, his message should be, “Let them hate, provided they fear.” The man has already started touring the area. You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone. Change actually begins at the end of your comfort zone. His challengers should know that Partap Bajwa has already left his comfort zone and is all set to intrude into their comfort zones. One quality about Bajwa is that he knows that to ‘handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.’ Reason enough why he has remained an MLA thrice and an MP twice. He recently created some drama in the Rajya Sabha by tearing the three farm bills after the Chairman repeatedly declined his requests to have a discussion. This has endeared him to the farmers with many putting out social media posts hailing his action. As they say, ‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man.’
No welcome for Majithia
Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia had a tough time dealing with farmers on his recent visit to Sri Hargobindpur. He was shown black flags as he made his way to the residence of former MC chief Bawa Harjit Singh Bhalla. The Akali leader blamed the local Congress leadership for having instigated the farmers to come on to the streets. “I know all this is the handiwork of some disgruntled Congressmen. The farmers are not to be blamed. I have tangible evidence that the sitting Congress MLA Balwinder Singh Laddi had planned and executed the protests. I repeat, the farmers are not involved in any way whatsoever,” he said. On their part, the Batala police had made elaborate arrangements to ensure no untoward incident took place. SSP Ashwani Kapur was a relieved man once Majithia and his cavalcade left the city.
Kejriwal’s visit lifts spirits of AAP workers
AAP national convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal surely lifted the spirits of AAP workers when he paid a visit to SAD ex-minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan’s house. Sri Hargobindpur halqa in-charge Amarpal Singh Kishenkot, who bagged an impressive 25,000 votes in the 2017 Assembly polls while contesting on an AAP ticket, said no leader can generate the kind of euphoria Kejriwal does. All Punjab AAP MLAs were present on the occasion. Actually, they had reached Amritsar to welcome Kejriwal at the airport and remained with him till he left for Delhi. MP Bhagwant Mann too was there at Sekhwan village and regaled his colleagues with some witty anecdotes. For the record, Sekhwan’s son, Jagrup Singh Sekhwan is all set to contest the polls on the party ticket from Qadian.
— Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal
MP Partap Singh Bajwa: The ‘Return of the Native’
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