Irony: Jailed During Emergency, Former AAP MP Joins Congress; May Fill Preneet Kaur's Void For Party In Patiala For Lok Sabha Elections

Praising Rahul Gandhi, former Patiala MP Dharam Vira Gandhi joined Congress on Monday (1 April). The irony is that he was jailed during the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Most of the opposition leaders who were jailed during the Emergency of 1975-77, remained opposed to the Congress throughout their life, however, Dharam Vira Gandhi joined Congress.

While joining he said that he wanted to be on the right side of history and praised Rahul Gandhi's slogans like "Nafrat ke bazaar me mohabbat ki dukaan" and "Daro mat" (afraid not).

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gave a ticket to Dr Balbir Singh, a minister in the Bhagwant Mann Cabinet, from Patiala, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded four-time Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, who joined the party after leaving Congress.

Thus, Dharam Vira Gandhi can fielded from Patiala to fill up the void left by Preneet Kaur's departure. He earlier won the Lok Sabha election on AAP ticket in 2014. However, he left the party in 2015.

In 2019, he floated his own party, Nawan Punjab Party (NPP) months before the Lok Sabha election, and contested on its symbol but lost to Preneet Kaur. Before the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, he had launched Punjab Front.

He is a doctor by profession and completed his MBBS after getting released from jail during the Emergency. He participated in Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra last year and remained active during this year's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

He attacked the BJP for creating "religious polarisation" and pledged to defeat BJP candidate Preneet Kaur. He was welcomed by Congress’s Punjab in-charge Devender Yadav and state president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring into the party.

In the four-cornered fight, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is yet to announce its candidate for the elections scheduled for 1 June. The counting of votes will take place on 4 June.