Fiery end to 14th Vidhan Sabha, over to poll arena

Chandigarh : The curtains finally came down on the 14th Vidhan Sabha last week, with the last day of the session ending on a bitter note. This Vidhan Sabha has perhaps been the most happening with its larger share of fights and hurling of abuses by MLAs in all sessions of this term.
If the previous Vidhan Sabha sessions are remembered for meaningful debates on issues concerning the state, this session will be remembered more for the falling level of debate and the use of foul language in the House. The session also saw the rise of Young Turks who seemed to have developed their own code of conduct in the House, including the change in dress code — from the traditional Punjabi kurta pyjamas or formal suits to a more casual wear of jeans and T shirts that is synonymous with the casual attitude.
The Tribune brings a lowdown on the newsmakers in the 14th Vidhan Sabha:
Most well-prepared
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal takes the honours. Before each session, he sets aside three to four days for taking briefings from officers. Others in his league are Agriculture Minister Tota Singh, Education Minister Daljit Cheema, BJP legislator Manoranjan Kalia and Congress MLA Lal Singh.
The baiters
Deputy CMSukhbir Singh Badal and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia claim they love challenges. In the House, they openly instigated the Opposition, enraging them often and leading them to frequent walkouts.
The deserters
MLAs Joginder Pal Jain and Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu who were elected on the Congress ticket in 2012 switched their loyalties towards the ruling Akali Dal. This led to the byelections in Moga and Talwandi Sabo and the two got re-elected on the Akali ticket.
The rebels
Balwinder Bains and Simarjit Bains were the “born rebels” in the 14th Vidhan Sabha. Former Akali MLA Pargat Singh and suspended Akali MLA Inderbir Singh Bolaria too rebelled against their party.
The ‘outsiders’
If Capt Amarinder Singh resigned from the Vidhan Sabha to contest the parliamentary election from Amritsar, his aide Arvind Khanna resigned from Dhuri, claiming politics was not his calling. Another Congress MLA Ramanjit Singh Sikki resigned last year, saying he was “pained” at the incidents of desecration of Guru Granth Sahib.
The late entrants
Preneet Kaur joined as MLA in the Vidhan Sabha in 2014 from Patiala in a byelection necessitated after her husband Capt Amarinder Singh vacated the seat. Gobind Singh Longowal joined the House in 2015 after winning the Dhuri byelection, while Ravinder Singh Brahmpura won the Khadoor Sahib bypoll earlier this year.
The answer-seekers
Leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi and Justice Nirmal Singh (Akali Dal) put forth the maximum questions in the House in all sessions and asked the maximum supplementary questions.
The shout brigade
Tarlochan Singh Soondh, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Kuljit Nagra from the Congress and Bikram Singh Majithia and Virsa Singh Valtoha from the Akali Dal lent loudest voices to their parties in debates.
No longer ministers
Sarwan Singh Phillaur and Bibi Jagir Kaur lost their ministerial berths and became MLAs. The former for his son’s name coming up in the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into the drug trade, while Bibi for being pronounced guilty in her daughter’s murder case.
Impactful Opposition MLA
Former Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar always had the ears of the ruling alliance when he spoke in the House. He got various issues and knew how to build upon a topic and take on the treasury benches.