Polls split families, fuel sibling rivalry in Punjab

GURDASPUR/NAWANSHAHR: In the land of pajis, assembly election has divided several families. Mud-slinging and finger-pointing have replaced friendly backslaps and banter over evening drinks in some homes as family feud is out in the open.

In Batala constituency, it's a direct fight between sitting Congress MLA Ashwani Sekhri and his brother Inder. While Ashwani enjoys close proximity to Rahul Gandhi, Inder revolted and joined AAP rebel Sucha Singh Chhotepur's

Apna Punjab Party

.

To make things worse, they are facing a massive challenge from Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Punjab convener and satirist Gurpreet Guggi.
Not too far from Sekhri family, Dera Baba Nanak MLA and Congress pick Sukhjinder Randhawa got a shock three months ago when his brother Inderjit and his son Deepender applied for a ticket from the same party.
While Congress went ahead with Randhawa elder, 30-year-old Deepender revolted and yet again Chhotepur pulled him into his outfit and fielded him from the same Dera Baba Nanak seat in Gurdaspur district.

However, the elder Randhawa, who is a key member of

Punjab Congress

chief Captain Amarinder's team, insists he played a key role in inducting several rebel Akalis, including Inderbir Bolaria and Olympian Pargat Singh into Congress fold and giving the party an edge in the state.

In Nawanshahr, another Congress candidate Angad Singh, 30, is facing a tough challenge from his uncle and AAP's Charanjit Singh. While Angad is making a debut, Charanjit, who is Angad's father's elder brother, is a two-time MLA.

"My taaya has switched party five times. Initially, he fought as independent, then on Congress ticket, followed by BSP, Congress and now AAP. He should have given the baton to a young member of the family now. Does it look good if the family splits," asks Angad, who has got his mother Guriqbal Kaur's seat in Nawanshahr.

Another sibling rivalry is playing out in Malerkotla, where AAP has fielded model and actor Mohammad Arshad, 40, better known as Arshad Dali, while the Congress has pitted his sister Razia Sultana, 49, against him. Sultana, two-time MLA from Malerkotla and wife of Director General of Police (

Punjab State Human Rights Commission

) Mohammad Mustafa, had lost the election in 2012. Dali had contested elections before, once as a BSP candidate and later on a Panthic Morcha ticket.

In 2011, Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal, who is the nephew of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, had quit SAD to float his outfit People's Party of Punjab and now he is contesting on Congress ticket from Bathinda Urban.