Cong candidate defeats Gujral by over 30,000 votes

JALANDHAR: The Congress candidate Rana Gurjit Singh defeated Akali Dal-BJP combine''s Naresh Gujral by a margin of 33, 463 votes and this despite the fact that BSP''s Devidas Nahar took away 69,188 precious votes from the Congress vote bank.
Both the leading candidates polled a massive chunk of the 7,41,771 polled votes. While Rana Gurjit got 3,44,619, Naresh Gujral got 3,11,156 votes, making it a keenly contested seat, and one which saw many fluctuations in the counting drama that unfolded today.
Two factors are being identified which proved to be decisive for Rana Gurjit Singh''s victory: the substantial reduction in the lead traditionally taken by the Akali Dal in their strongholds of Lohian and Sultanpur and the large lead taken by Rana Gurjit in the Assembly segments of Avtar Henry (Jalandhar North) and Mohinder Singh Kaypee (Jalandhar South).Put together the total lead taken in these two segments was 27, 627. Henry and Kaypee worked hard to get their votes transferred.
Knowing fully well that Lohian and Sultanpur were the two weak points if he were ever to fulfill the dream of entering Parliament he started nursing these segments right from day one. He controlled these segments through his Kapurthala office where his family, relatives and friends did the maximum for the farmers of the region. This paid him dividends in the form of narrowed down margins.
Last time the Akalis took a lead of 10,696 in Lohian. This time the lead was reduced to 3252. In Sultanpur, where SAD''s Dr Upinderjit Kaur could not help the peasants much, being out of power, the lead was 7,781 last time. This time it is a mere 1339.
In his home segment of Kapurthala it was a record low lead of 250. Regarding the very low lead Rana Gurjit said : "Perhaps I have not been able to pay enough attention to people''s problems there. I will review my team''s policies and carry out corrections."
In Kartarpur the Congress could muster a lead of only 1940. This is being attributed to the anti-incumbency factor operating in Kartarpur segment where Ch Jagjit Singh is being blamed for his inaccessibility. At Nakodar the dismal performance is being attributed to the dent created by the Balbir Singh and the Kuldeep Singh Wadala factor. Balbir Singh who belongs to Shankar crossed over to the Akali Dal from the Congress as he was denied the party ticket. Shankar village falls in Nakodar segment. Wadala belongs to Sreenh village and had his loyal following.