Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency which went by the name of Tarn Taran before delimitation is all set to witness a multi-cornered contest in the coming parliamentary elections. It is a rural dominated constituency where there were few pockets for the BJP which has also entered the poll arena along with other parties. Previously, it was a constituency which was represented either by the Congress or by the SAD. Till the election of 1977 which was held after the lifting of Emergency, it was represented only by the Congress party but in the election of 1977, the seat was captured by the SAD from Congress in such a way that it came to be known as 'Panthic' seat till the election in 2019, represented mostly by the SAD candidates. The SAD had boycotted the elections in 1992 and the Congress candidate won from here. This time around, with elections slated to be held on June 1, all political parties have declared their candidates which has shown that the election here is set to be interesting with a multi-cornered contest on the anvil. It was the Congress party which was representing the seat with Jasbir Singh Dimpa as its sitting candidate. He has been replaced by Kulbir Singh Zira, former MLA from the Zira Vidhan Sabha constituency. Virsa Singh Valtoha, two-time MLA is the SAD candidate. Laljit Singh Bhullar of the AAP, Manjit Singh Manna Mianwind of the BJP, Gurdial Singh Khadoor Sahib from the CPI and Amritpal Singh of 'Waris Punjab De' are among the other main candidates from here. All these candidates have their mass base in the area. The Congress, SAD, BJP and CPI are parties with a mass base with Amritpal Singh being backed by hardcore Sikh organisations. The candidates or their supporters have started their activities in the area. Even Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has visited the district in favour of the party candidate once. Street corner (Nukkad Sabha) meetings are being held by the parties and the contest is set to be tough and interesting from here. With senior leaders set to visit the constituency for campaigning in the coming days, the electoral fight is set to be thrilling. Sikh voters, particularly the hardcore Sikh organisations, are set to play a key role in the elections.

Administration gears up to ensure voter turnout

The district administration in Tarn Taran has geared up for the Lok Sabha elections next month. Sandeep Kumar, District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner said the administration following the instructions of the Election Commission is leaving no stone unturned to cross the target of 70 per cent polling in the constituency.

DC Sandeep Kumar said that the educational institutions are holding competitions and rallies to make the voters aware and persuade them to come to the polling station on the day of election. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyala (JNV), Goindwal Sahib, organised a speech and poster-making competition in the school complex. The speakers exhorted the newly registered voters to come to the polling station on election day and exercise their franchise to elect a government of their choice. Rambir Singh, principal of JNV, was the keynote speaker who advised the newly registered voters to go to the polling station and cast their votes. (Contributed by Gurbaxpuri)