Once ‘Jai-Veeru’, Simarjit Singh Bains and Kamaljit Singh Karwal turn bitter political rivals

LUDHIANA: Returning officer of Atam Nagar constituency might have ordered 24-hour video surveillance of Lok Insaf Party (LIP) candidate Simarjit Singh Bains and Indian National Congress candidate Kamaljit Singh Karwal after the clash between them, but tension is still simmering between them on social media. Supporters of both leaders are now posting news and videos on their social media pages blaming the other group for the clash.
However, not everyone knows that things were not the same between Bains and Karwal till a few years ago and once they were very close friends — just like “Jai Veeru” of Bollywood film ‘Sholey’.
Both of them were best friends for decades, since their school days at Guru Nanak High School of Janta Nagar where they studied together in same class. Their friendship grew stronger for over a decade as both of them remained like each other’s shadow and they stood steadily behind each other.
In their 20s, Bains, following footsteps of his elder brother Balwinder, started his political career with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Amritsar and later became a councillor.
With Karwal by his side, Bains stormed ahead in politics and there was a time when Bains and his brother had 17 councillors of their independent outfit in the municipal corporation (MC) house. By 2012, Bains brothers had joined hands with SAD (Badal), but after being denied ticket both brothers contested elections independently and won from their seats. However, they later extended outside support to SAD but this alliance could not last for long and Simarjit Bains had a fallout with party supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal and snapped all ties with SAD.
All this while Karwal remained a close confidante of Bains and he too became a known face among the political circles and was elected a councillor twice.
However, in 2014 circumstances changed and big rift started developing between Bains and Karwal and finally in January 2015, Karwal joined SAD and Sukhbir Badal himself came to Ludhiana for Karwal’s joining. Karwal’s supporters claim that he left Bains because he did not get help he expected from him to manage the business crisis he was facing at that time, while Bains supporters claim that Karwal took this step as he had high political ambitions and in order to make own career he joined SAD, the nemesis of Bains brothers. With this development, hundreds of supporters and close associates of both Bains and Karwal also had to choose between the two.
Till 2017, although the situation between remained tense, it was under control, as no untoward incident except for verbal war ever occurred. But just days before assembly elections of 2017, Karwal quit SAD and joined Congress, as he got ticket to contest against Bains from Atam Nagar seat (the bastion of Bains that Karwal was once part of). It was from this time that the rift widened and both openly came out against each other.
The enmity grew deeper as the social media war of their supporters reached the streets and on and off incidents of petty fights started taking place, which over the years have now turned into violent fights and clashes ahead of elections.
The bitter feud continues as no one from thousands of their supporters and acquaintances ever tried to broker peace between them.
According to a common friend, people and political parties always try to take advantage of their enmity for their gains.