BJP faces revolt in Punjab, Swaran Salaria says will contest from Gurdaspur

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing a revolt in Punjab's Gurdaspur, where Swaran Salaria has declared that he will contest the Lok Sabha elections even as the party has already announced a candidate. Salaria had contested the 2017 bypoll from Gurdaspur on a BJP ticket following the death of MP and actor Vinod Khanna, but lost to the Congress' Sunil Jakhar.  

Jakhar is now the BJP's Punjab chief. "I have been working in the constituency for the past many years. People in my area are saying that they will ensure my victory," he asserted. "I guarantee that I will win by a margin of over 2.50 lakh votes," he said, adding that he will fight on the symbol of a "good party". "It will be clear by April 13. It will be a good and winning party." 

The BJP, which is going solo in Punjab, has fielded former MLA Dinesh Babbu from Gurdaspur. Actor Sunny Deol won this seat in the 2019 elections for the BJP. Babbu is a former three-time MLA from Sujanpur in Pathankot. Salaria, however, said he has no grouse against the BJP for not nominating him. 

"I did not demand the ticket from the BJP. To whomsoever they have given the ticket, good luck to him," he said. Khanna's wife Kavita Khanna was also an aspirant from Gurdaspur. 

For the first time since 1996, the BJP is contesting the Lok Sabha polls alone in Punjab. The Shiromani Akali Dal walked out of the NDA in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws. 

Gurdaspur was a Congress bastion before Vinod Khanna won the seat in 1998, defeating the grand old party's five-time MP Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder. He also registered victories in 1999, 2004, and 2014. In 2009, Khanna lost to the Congress' Partap Singh Bajwa.

The BJP won two seats in Punjab in 2019 with 9.63 per cent votes. 

(With inputs from PTI)