Joginder Mann can prove to be a trump card for AAP from Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat

Jalandhar: With battle lines drawn for Jalandhar by-poll various political parties have started search for winning candidates in this prestigious election.

While Congress wants to wrest this seat which became vacant after death of its MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh, the Akali Dal wants to make a come back by riding on the elephant of the BSP in the stronghold of the Dalits. After breaking away from the Akali Dal, BJP is also contesting this seat for the first time. But this seat is the most prestigious for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party as the party does not want to take any risk in Jalandhar after its humiliating defeat in the Sangrur by-election.

Doaba is the bastion of the Dalit community but the party does not have any face that is universally accepted by Dalits as well as all other sections of society. Most of Bhagwant Mann’s Dalit ministers are from Majha or Malwa region and hardly have presence in the Dalit community outside their constituencies. The history of Jalandhar also shows that voters of Jalandhar had not voted for artists or retired officials. A glaring example of this is Hans Raj Hans who left his career at the peak but was defeated by the people, similarly retired and decorated army officer Rajinder Singh Sparrow was also rejected by the people in 1989.

In such circumstances, Joginder Singh Mann, a prominent Dalit leader of the party Doab and former minister of Punjab, can be the most suitable candidate for AAP from this prestigious seat. Mann has been an MLA from Phagwara Constituency three times in 1985, 1992 and 2002 and served as a minister under former Punjab Chief Ministers Beant Singh, Harcharan Singh Brar, Rajinder Kaur Bhathal and Captain Amarinder Singh. In protest against the Congress government’s leniency against the convicts of post-matric scholarship, Mann, while severing his 50-year old ties with the Congress, had joined the AAP and contested from Phagwara. Despite absence of organisational structure of AAP in Phagwara, he drubbed BJP’s senior Dalit leader Vijay Sampla and BSP president Jasvir Singh Garhi to the fourth and third positions respectively, but lost by less than 2000 votes. Although AAP wave was strong in entire Punjab, but the Congress’s decision to make Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit leader, the Chief Minister of Punjab worked in Doaba due to which AAP did not get many seats.

Maan can be the most suitable face for party in Jalandhar as he is not new to Jalandhar. Maan started his student politics here in the 1970s. An active leader of the Jalandhar Youth Congress, Maan has served the people for many years by running a milk bar at BMC Chowk in the city center. Former Home Minister of the country late Sardar Buta Singh, who hailed from Jalandhar and was uncle of Mann, was at peak of his career in the country at that time. Before being elected MLA from Phagwara in 1985, Mann had also contested from Phillaur Vidhan Sabha constituency in 1980 but I was defeated by a margin of few votes.

Mann has good relations with major deras of Doaba, including Dera Ballan, Dera Raipur Rasulpur, Dera Rahimpur and others, which can benefit him. Mann is a native of Jalandhar and his close relatives resides in 6 out of 8 assembly constituencies of Jalandhar, Jalandhar Central, Kartarpur, Nakodar, Adampur, Shahkot and Phillaur.

Similarly, since Mann has been very active in the city of Jalandhar, so he is also very popular in the city. Known as a leader connected to the ground Mann is also a shrewd politician who can tilt the tide in favor of AAP by damaging the Congress due to his deep connections in the Congress. Apart from this, a Sikh face of Dalits having a firm grip on Gurbani along with the issues of Dalits can give them a big advantage. Whatever the decision may be, Mann can be game changer for AAP if his name is seriously considered for the ticket. Victory in the Jalandhar election is a big challenge for the party and a person like Mann who unblemished political career and is a hard worker and grass root leader can facilitate the win of AAP easily.