Jalandhar, December 3, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)
In preparation for the municipal elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has started accepting applications for councilor candidates. On Tuesday, senior party leader and Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO visited Jalandhar. He held meetings with party officials and MLAs from assembly constituencies of Jalandhar and discussed in detail the applications received for councilor candidates.
The meeting was attended by Minister Mohinder Bhagat, MLAs Raman Arora and Jasvir Singh Raja Gill, AAP leaders Rajwinder Kaur Thiara, Pawan Kumar Tinu, Dinesh Dhall, Deepak Bali, Amrit Pal, Mangal Singh, Tarandeep Singh Sunny, Gurvinder Shergill, Stevan Klair, and other party leaders.
ETO stated that after the application process is completed, the party will conduct surveys at the ward level to select councilor candidates. Tickets will be awarded to candidates with the highest chances of winning. He emphasized that there will be no discrimination in ticket distribution, and the focus will solely be on fielding winnable candidates.
He added that there is great enthusiasm among AAP workers and people regarding the municipal elections. So far, around 300 applications have been received for the 85 wards of Jalandhar Municipal Corporation, and more applications are expected. Seeing the enthusiasm of the people, we can confidently say that AAP will have a mayor in Jalandhar.
ETO mentioned that AAP will contest elections based on the work done by its government. Party leaders and workers will go door-to-door to inform people about the achievements of the AAP government over the past two and a half years and encourage them to vote. He said people are ready to support AAP. Just as they gave us a landslide victory in the by-elections, they will ensure our victory in the municipal elections as well.
He appealed to the public to actively participate in the election process and vote for the development of their city. ETO expressed hope for peaceful elections and appealed to all political parties to maintain the same peaceful environment as seen in the by-elections held in the four assembly constituencies. He assured that the government is committed to ensuring a peaceful election where people can vote without fear.
BJP-Congress’s Illusions Will Be Shattered After Municipal Elections – ETO
In response to a question, ETO said that the municipal elections will dispel the illusion of BJP’s strength in urban areas. He pointed out that during the by-elections, BJP’s vote share in urban areas dropped from 19% to 10%. AAP received the highest votes everywhere. Now, urban voters in Punjab also consider AAP as their first choice.
Regarding the Congress, he said people claim that Jalandhar is a Congress stronghold. But this time, the Congress fortress will collapse. Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak were also considered Congress strongholds, but we defeated them by huge margins in the by-elections. Just as we defeated Congress in Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak, we will defeat them in Jalandhar this time.
Setback for BJP! District Vice President Gurwinder Singh Lamba Joins AAP
Renowned Church Leader Gaurav Masih Also Joins Aam Aadmi Party
During the Jalandhar meeting, AAP achieved a major breakthrough as several prominent social and political leaders joined the party. BJP faced a significant setback as its district vice president Gurwinder Singh Lamba joined AAP.
Gaurav Masih, a prominent religious figure and Anglican Church priest from Jalandhar, also joined the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday. Additionally, Surinder Sampla, former sarpanch of Sufi village, also joined AAP. Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO formally welcomed all leaders into the party and expressed his delight in having them join the AAP family.