In Jalalabad, Rai Sikhs weigh their options

Jalalabad : The high-profile contest between SAD’s Sukhbir Singh Badal, AAP’s Bhagwant Mann and Congress’ Ravneet Singh Bittu has become even more curious with the dominating Rai Sikhs rallying behind the latter and ‘estranged’ Akali MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, who belongs to the Rai community, canvassing “door to door” for the Congress candidate. Even as Bittu has got a shot in the arm, Congress factionalism has vanished. Former Congress minister and a Kamboj leader, Hans Raj Josan, who was a ticket aspirant, has begun campaigning for Bittu, The Rai Sikhs have more than 80,000 votes in the constituency and the Kamboj community 25,000. The total votes are 1,93,712. A majority of Rai Sikhs had voted for Sukhbir in the last two Assembly elections.
The SAD seems to have scored a self-goal. By allegedly releasing a sleazy video on Ghubaya, it appears to have antagonised the Rai Sikhs.
The contest in Jalalabad was seen as a direct one between Sukhbir and Mann. But after the release of the sleazy video, all that has changed with the Congress candidate, whose candidature was announced at the eleventh hour, leaving him less than two weeks to campaign, emerging strong.
“The Kamboj biradari feels indebted to Beant Singh for eliminating terrorism in this border belt,” says Boor Singh, a Rai Sikh of Basti Bhuman Shah village. (Bittu is the late Chief Minister’s grandson). The Akalis, on the other hand, claim they have not lost a ‘single Rai Sikh or Kamboj’ vote. Sukhbir has, meanwhile, increased his visits to Jalalabad. “We are not flustered. We have empowered the Rai Sikhs by setting up Rai Sikh Welfare Board,” Sukhbir says with confidence. He makes sure he visits Rai Sikh villages and listen to their grievances.SAD spokesperson Manjinder Singh Sirsa does not see Ghubaya as an opinion-maker. “Has anyone seen a Rai Sikh leader standing with Bittu on stage? Whether or not Ghubaya campaigns for Bittu is inconsequential,” he says. Sukhbir is campaigning on the development plank. But a couple of factors are working against him, the main one being the “high-handedness” of his OSD and SAD’s halqa chief Satinderjit Singh Manta. “Nobody can deny that SAD undertook numerous development works in the area. But the ‘extraordinary’ powers given to Manta has alienated the people of the constituency,” explains a local resident. Also, old-age pension has not been disbursed in the constituency since the past about three months. The central grant (Rs15,000 per family) for building toilets too has been delayed. “We were given only Rs5,000 of the Rs15,000 central grant three months ago. Now, nobody is listening to us,” complains Kailash Rani.