Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) in accordance to its latest list of candidates has dropped its three-time MLA Bibi Jagir Kaur from Bholath but instead SAD (Badal) picked her son-in-law Yuvraj Bhupinder Singh, 41. Husband of Bibi’s younger daughter, Bhupinder is an active member of the Youth Akali Dal (Badal). Furthermore as per media reports SAD (Badal) has decided not to field former minister Sucha Singh Langah from Dera Baba Nanak seat due to his conviction in a disproportionate assets case.
Bibi Jagir Kaur, who was a cabinet minister till December 2012, was convicted by a special CBI court Patiala for ‘abduction, illegal confinement and forcible abortion of her daughter’ and was awarded five-year jail. She is currently out on bail. She tried her best to stay in the battle of ballot and even filed a plea in the Punjab and Haryana high court, seeking a ‘stay’ on her sentence, but it was rejected by the court in August 2016. The next date of hearing for the appeal against the CBI court verdict is January 10 said the media reports.
According to the report in the Hindustan Times (HT) Bholath segment of Kapurthala district has been witnessing high-stake contest since 1997 between former SGPC chief Jagir Kaur and former Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira (now in AAP). Khaira is AAP candidate this time and, for the first time, won’t face Jagir Kaur, a popular figure among the influential local community in the segment. In the four elections the two faced each other, Bibi won thrice and Khaira wrested the seat once in 2007.
Media while referring to an undisclosed source said that earlier Jagir Kaur was pitching the name of her daughter Rajneet Kaur Dazy (Bhulinder’s wife) for the ticket, but the party decided in favor of her son-in law instead.