News Analysis India

Tag: Anil Joshi

  • Several turncoats, Cabinet ministers trailing in Punjab as AAP sweeps state

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Several party hoppers including Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa and Anil Joshi were trailing from their respective constituencies in Punjab, according to poll trends.

    The Aam Aadmi Party was leading in 89 out of total 117 assembly seats in Punjab.

    Ahead of the assembly polls, several leaders had switched sides.

    Former sports minister Sodhi had quit the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and contested from Ferozepur City seat.

    Sodhi, a four-time MLA from Guruharsahai in Ferozepur, was trailing from Ferozepur seat, the trends showed.

    AAP candidate Ranbir Singh was leading from Ferozepur City over his nearest rival and Congress candidate Parminder Singh Pinki.

    Former Congress leader Bajwa, who had joined the BJP, and fought from Batala seat was trailing.

    Aam Aadmi Party candidate Amansher Singh is leading from Batala seat over his nearest rival and Congress candidate Ashwani Sekhri, according to trends.

    Fateh Jang Bajwa was a sitting legislator from Qadian seat from where the Congress fielded his elder brother and Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa.

    Former Punjab minister Joshi, who quit the BJP and joined the SAD last year, contested from Amritsar North assembly seat.

    AAP candidate and former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh was leading over Joshi from Amritsar North seat.

    Joshi had remained legislator from the Amritsar North seat in 2007 and 2012 on the BJP ticket.

    He faced defeat in the 2017 Assembly polls.

    Former Congress leader Harjot Kamal, who too had joined the BJP, fought from Moga assembly seat.

    Kamal left the Congress after the party denied him the ticket from Moga.

    From Moga seat, AAP candidate Amandeep Kaur Arora was leading over her nearest rival and Congress candidate Malvika Sood Sachar, who is sister of actor Sonu Sood.

    Former Punjab minister and three-time MLA Joginder Singh Mann, who joined the AAP after snapping his 50-year-old ties with the Congress, fought from Phagwara seat.

    However, Congress candidate Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal was leading over BSP nominee Jasvir Singh Garhi from Phagwara seat.

    Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lali Majithia, who joined the AAP after leaving the Congress, tried his luck from Majitha assembly segment.

    SAD candidate Ganieve Kaur Majithia is leading from Majithia assembly segment.

    Raman Bahl, who left the Congress last year and joined the AAP, fought from Gurdaspur seat.

    SAD candidate Gurbachan Singh Babehali was leading over Congress candidate and sitting MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra from Gurdaspur seat.

    Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and most of his Council of Ministers were trailing in their respective constituencies, as per the trends at 12 pm.

    Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who contested from two constituencies, Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district and Bhadaur seat in Barnala, is trailing in both as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates are leading the race.

    Channi is the sitting MLA from Chamkaur Sahib.

    Most of Channi’s ministers, who had succeeded Amarinder Singh after his unceremonious exit as the chief minister in September last year, were also trailing.

    From Amritsar Central seat, Minister O P Soni was trailing behind AAP’s Ajay Gupta while Raj Kumar Verka was behind AAP’s Jasbir Singh Sandhu from Amritsar West.

    Manpreet Singh Badal was behind AAP’s Jagroop Gill from Bathinda Urban seat while from Gidderbaha, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring was trailing behind Akali Dal’s Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon.

    From Sangrur, Vijay Inder Singla was trailing behind AAP’s Narinder Kaur Bharaj.

    Pargat Singh was trailing behind AAP’s Surinder Singh Sodhi from Jalandhar Cantonment and Bharat Bhushan Ashu was behind AAP’s Gurpreet Bassi Gogi from Ludhiana West.

    Razia Sultana was behind her nearest AAP rival Mohammed Jamil-ur-Rahman from Malerkotla seat.

    Sangat Singh Gilzian was trailing behind AAP’s Jasvir Singh Raja Gill from Urmar seat.

    Ministers Rana Gurjeet Singh, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa were leading.

    As per the trends at 12:15 pm, the Aam Aadmi Party appeared to be heading for a clean sweep in Punjab, having taken a lead in 90 of the 117-Assembly seats.

  • Former Punjab minister Anil Joshi joins Akali Dal ahead of polls

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab minister Anil Joshi on Friday joined the Shiromani Akali Dal in the presence of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who declared him the candidate from the Amritsar North Assembly seat in the next year’s elections.

    Joshi was also appointed the senior vice-president of the party.

    Raj Kumar Gupta was announced the Akali Dal candidate from the Sujanpur seat in Pathankot.

    Several other BJP leaders also joined the SAD.

    Prominent among them were former Dasuya MLA Sukhjit Kaur, former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state chief Mohit Gupta and ex-deputy mayor of Ludhiana R D Sharma.

    Joshi was expelled last month by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for six years for his “anti-party” activities.

    Joshi had criticised the party’s state and central leadership for “mishandling” the farmers’ agitation against the Union government’s contention agriculture laws.

    The former BJP leader has been blaming the party’s state leadership for not giving a correct feedback to the Centre on the farm laws.

    Joshi had remained legislator from the Amritsar North seat in 2007 and 2012.

    He faced defeat in the 2017 Assembly polls.

    About the candidature of Gupta and Joshi, Badal said the decision has been taken with the consent of the alliance partner BSP.

    According to the seat sharing arrangement between the SAD and the BSP, the latter would field its candidates from Sujanpur and Jalandhar North seats.

    According to the alliance, the BSP will contest 20 of the 117 Assembly seats and the rest will be contested by the Akali Dal.

    Badal said the joining of Joshi and other leaders sent a clear message to those trying to create insecurity amongst people in urban areas.

    He said the SAD is committed to its vision of peace and communal harmony.

    Asserting that Joshi is a courageous leader who had always done his utmost for his constituency as well as the holy city of Amritsar, Badal announced that Joshi had been appointed senior vice-president of the party.

    Joshi said he was forced to quit a party which he had nourished because the BJP “turned a blind eye” to the genuine demands of farmers.

    “Even our state leaders misled the central leadership,” he alleged.

    Joshi said he had decided to join the SAD because it was the lone party which stood for regional aspirations.

    “The Congress Party does not understand the pain of Punjabis while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) only wants yes men as legislators whom it controls by remote from Delhi,” he said.