Patiala, May 11 (IANS) Building a rapport with the people, BJP candidate from Punjab’s Patiala — former Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur — on Saturday said she shared a special relationship with every house in Patiala district.
“The love, affection, and the foremost thing, trust, that the people of Patiala have shown in me is my greatest treasure,” Kaur said while addressing a public meeting in Samana town.
She said: “Serving Patiala and Punjab is a sacred duty for me and my family. We have been fulfilling the promise made by our ancestors. Whenever we had to choose between Punjab and power, be it in 1984 (after Bluestar Operation), in 2004 (the SYL – Satluj Yamuna Link) canal issue, went against the then government), or in 2021 (when Amarinder Singh resigned), we have always chosen Punjab, without any hesitation.”
Regarding the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Kaur said: “The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has failed to fulfill its promises in 26 months of its tenure. The people of Punjab have a big heart and that is why they gave a chance to the AAP but the party could not fulfill any of their expectations and promises made to the people.
“The last 26 months of the AAP have been very disappointing. The Bhagwant Mann-led government could not fulfill its promise of giving Rs 1,000 per month to women of the state, which is why all women of Punjab are demanding an account of their Rs 26,000 from the AAP and CM Bhagwant Mann,” Kaur said.
She further said that Punjab’s hard-earned money is being looted by the masters of their party, sitting in Delhi, to fulfill their political ambitions.
“In just two years, despite winning a huge mandate, there was a massive anti-incumbency against sitting MLAs in Patiala Lok Sabha. The people of Punjab have realised that everyone can give a guarantee but only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP can fulfill them,” the four-time MP added.
Sitting MP Preneet Kaur, who is the wife of two-time Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, has been pitted against Congress candidate and noted cardiologist Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, who is seven years younger than the 79-year-old Kaur.
Dharamvira Gandhi defeated Preneet Kaur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when he was contesting on an AAP ticket.
While this time, the AAP has fielded Health Minister, Balbir Singh, the Shiromani Akali Dal has reposed faith in two-time legislator and realtor, N.K. Sharma, the first Hindu face of the party from the Sikh-dominated seat.
Patiala, one of the 13 Parliamentary constituencies in Punjab, has been a bastion of the Congress.
It has nine Assembly constituencies — Nabha (reserved), Patiala, Patiala (rural), Rajpura, Dera Bassi, Ghanaur, Sanour, Samana and Shutrana.
Polling in Punjab for all 13 seats is scheduled in the last phase of Lok Sabha elections on June 1.
–IANS
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