Political manoeuvring, surprises in Jalandhar

Jalandhar: In Jalandhar, the AAP ticket from Ward 64 has become the most-watched affair.Jalandhar Central MLA Raman Arora has held a function in the ward and announced the candidature of his close relative Raj Kumar Madaan. In his speech, he said he was confident of locals ensuring Madaan’s victory.Madaan has even put on publicity material. Former Jalandhar mayor Jagdish Raj Raja, who joined AAP a couple of days before the announcement along with wife and former senior deputy mayor Anita Raja, was a claimant to the ward’s ticket too.However, when AAP released its first list of candidates on Dec 11 evening, the ticket was given to Ravinder Kumar Bansal. It is learnt the former mayor then spoke to top AAP state leaders, and the list was withdrawn. In the final list, Jagdish was declared the candidate from Ward 64 and his wife from Ward 65. This left Arora high and dry, especially as he announced Madaan’s candidature at a function. Madaan’s small hoardings dotted the ward even after the nominations were filed.Cong Loses Candidate To AAP, Replacement Withdraws NominationAfter AAP won over a few leaders from other parties and fielded them in the MC elections in Jalandhar, it managed to make former Congress councillor Aruna Arora from Ward 33 join even as the latter was sure to get the Congress ticket and was the sole claimant in the ward. As this happened when the process of nominations was on, Congress leaders decided to first wait for the release of the AAP list before announcing their remaining list.AAP posted its complete list on Dec 11, and Congress finalised its list on Dec 12, the last day of filing nominations. However, from that ward, Congress candidate Manmeet, who had filed nomination papers, later withdrew her nomination. Congress is yet to give its take on the issue.Same candidate in AAP, Cong listsAs party hopping reached new levels in parliamentary and assembly elections, it was not surprising in municipal elections. In MC elections, the personal rapport of candidates with area residents matters more than party affiliations. AAP released its final list, with a few revisions, on the night of Dec 11. From Ward 82, it announced the candidature of Neeraj Jassal.Sometime later, Congress released its list, and Neeraj’s name figured from Ward 84.Originally with BJP, Neeraj switched to AAP ahead of 2022 assembly elections, and he was working from ward 84 and wanted a ticket from the same ward. However, AAP fielded Des Raj Jassal, who was originally with Congress and joined AAP some time back. Jassal later said Ward 84 was his area, and he worked there and told AAP leadership that he was keen to contest from there only. Congress was looking for a suitable candidate, and Neeraj wanted a ward of his choice.Later, AAP prepared another candidate overnight.
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