With 23 assembly seats, Doaba is the smallest politicalregion in Punjab. Nonetheless, in terms of Dalit votes, the region issignificant.
Doaba, which is surrounded by the Sutlej and Beas rivers andwhere the irrigation system benefited from the Green Revolution, is noted forhaving the most fertile soil.
Scheduled Castes (SCs) account for roughly 32 percent ofPunjab's population, the highest in the country, according to the 2011 census.Doaba, on the other hand, has the highest proportion of Dalits (37.4 per cent),followed by Majha (29.3%), and Malwa (31.3%).
It is said that making a Dalit CM would benefit for CongressParty. But it may not be the case this time. Last time, out of 18 seats, Congresswon 19 seats and it was a clean seat that made Congress won. Congress paved theway to create power over Punjab through Doaba Dalit votes.
This time, It is seen that Congress is trapped the competitionwith the competitor parties. Doaba’s urban seats are having huge impact by BJPand village seats are in the favor of AAP and Akali-BSP alliance. This is why,Congress this time may or may not be in the clean seat from the Doaba region. Inthe present scenario, it can be seen that, Congress may lose 8-10 seats fromthe Doaba region.
Jalandhar
Talking about the nine assembly constituencies of Jalandhar,till now no clear winner on any seat can be seen. Whether he belongs to theDalit community or any other community, still there's no clarity that he willwin the seat with a majority of votes. Out of nine assembly constituencies ofthe Jalandhar district, BJP is seen contesting in only 3 assemblyconstituencies. In the remaining, the BJP has not yet gained momentum evenafter a heavy campaign. In Jalandhar, BJP is in a fight in North, West,Central.
Jalandhar North: In Jalandhar North, there's a closefight between BJP's Krishna Dev Bhandari and Congress MLA Bawa Henry. The othertwo main candidates who are contesting this seat are Kuldeep Singh Lubana ofAkali Dal-BSP candidate and Dinesh Dhal of Aam Aadmi Party. AAP candidateDinesh Dhal was earlier with the Congress, now stands against it. The BSPcandidate Lubana has drawn the SP category to his side. All these are adding tothe troubles of Congress. BJP is directly benefiting from this. For thisreason, BJP has now reached the competition of Congress.
Jalandhar Central: Jalandhar Central competition liesbetween Rajinder Berry of the Congress and Manoranjan Kalia of the BJP in theCentral seat. Manoranjan Kalia is known for his honesty, on the other hand,Rajinder Berry is known for his work which has been done by him previously.Akali Dal's Chandan Grewal may take away the votes of the employees of thecorporation, but the Akali Dal cadre will not give them full votes. AAPcandidate Raman Arora is working hard but has become controversial over hisremarks on women. However, the candidates of Congress, BJP, Akali Dal, and AamAadmi Party are working hard for victory.
Jalandhar West: Jalandhar West seat is reserved forScheduled Category. Looking at the atmosphere, Sushil Rinku of Congress is indirect competition with Mohinder Bhagat of BJP. People are angry with the AAPparty giving tickets to Sheetal Angural instead of Dr. Mali. Now, BJP's vote isdivided between Mohinder Bhagat and Angural. Those who work hard in theremaining time will be able to be on the seat. On the other hand, whose votewill be broken by AAP's candidate Sheetal Angural, will be weakened in therace.
Shahkot: There is a close contest between Congresscandidate Hardev Singh Ladi Sherowalia and Akali Dal's Taksali Akali BachitarSingh Kohar. BJP does not have any special base of its own in the region. Alittle bit of BJP votes went to the Akali Dal during the alliance. Aam AadmiParty does not have any cadre of its own here. Congress candidate LadiShorowalia has been an MLA in the by-election. The Kohad family has asubstantial support base. The area has been a stronghold of the Akali Dal. TheAam Aadmi Party has changed its candidate and is losing its ticket to theformer sarpanch and NRI Ratan Singh. In such a situation, whose vote will bebroken and who will win is still a question.
Jalandhar Cantt: In the Jalandhar Cantt seat,Congress's Education Minister Pargat Singh is against Aam Aadmi Party'scandidate Surinder Singh Sodhi. Both have been Olympians of hockey. BJP'scandidate is former MLA Sarabjit Singh Makkar, who left Akali Dal and joinedBJP. In such a situation, BJP is not supporting him. There's is an edge forPargat Singh and it seems that it will be beneficial for Pargat Singh evenSarabjit Singh Makkar breaks votes.
Kartarpur: Former Aam Aadmi Party candidate BalkarSingh is pitted against BSP's Balwinder Singh. On one side there arejournalists and on the other side, there are police officers in thecompetition. The fight between BJP's candidate Surinder Mahe and Congress's MLASurinder Chaudhary has become private. Surendra Chaudhary is working hard topersuade people. The interests of SC voters will decide the winner.
Adampur: In Adampur, there is a competition betweenAkali's outgoing MLA Pawan Tinu and Congress's candidate Sukhwinder Singh Kotliin Adampur's seat on Dera Sachkhand Ballan. Both are former BSP leaders. DeraSachkhand Ballan will change this competition into victory. On which side DeraSachkhand Ballan will have an eye, there will be victory. This time the ChiefMinister of the state Charanjit Singh Channi has taken a personal interest inincreasing the problems of Pawan Tinu. It is believed that the competition hereis not between Kotli, but Charanjit Singh Channi and Pawan Kumar Tinu. Now eyesare on Dera Sachkhand Ballan for victory.
Phillaur: The Phillaur assembly seat is contestedbetween Vikramjit Singh, son of Congress's MP Chaudhary Santosh Singh, andAkali Dal's candidate Baldev Singh Khaira. Baldev Singh of Akali Dal is gettingthe benefit of being friendly. AAP's Prem Singh remains a favorite for hissocial service work and to be among the people during the service period.Sarwan Phillaur, a former minister of Samyukta Akali Dal, has distanced himselffrom coming under ED's clutches and losing his ministerial post. Now, itremains to be seen whose side the public extends.
Nakodar: This time Gurpratap Singh Wadala of AkaliDal will be contesting against Dr. Navjot Dahiya of Congress. Here thecandidate of the Captain's party Shammi Kumar is out of the race for victory,but the Congress is continuously breaking the votes. At the same time, AamAadmi Party's candidate Inderjit Kaur is also out of the contest, but bothCongress and Akali are making the votes of the candidates in their favor.
Nawanshahr
In Nawanshahr, for the first time in years, Congress is notin direct domination in the elections. As a result, after canceling the ticketof the current MLA Angad Singh, the Congress has chosen Satbir Singh PalliJhikki as its candidate. Satvir Singh Palli Jhikki of Nawanshahr's 15-yearstruggle for a ticket ended when the Congress chose him to replace sitting MLAAngad Singh Saini.
Dr. Nachhatar Pal of the BSP-Akali coalition is attemptingto profit from Congress's divide. Dr. Nachhatar Pal of the alliance, LalitMohan Ballu of the Aam Aadmi Party, and Azad Angad Singh of the Aam Aadmi Partyare all running for this seat. Lalit Mohan Ballu, Nachhatar Pal, Angad Singh,and Satbir are also exchanging strong and personal barbs. In the villages,Lalit Mohan Ballu is supported by the name of Bhagwant Mann, while Satbir SinghPalli is harming Jhikki to independent Angad Singh.
Big Issues:
1. Stadium
2. Sand smuggling
3. Drunk andsewerage in the roads
4. Broken roads
5. Street lights
Caste factor:
1. Highest DalitVoter (40%)
2. Jatt Sikh(18%)
3. Saini Voter(12%)
But the seat was dominated by the Saini society. Angad Singh(Independent), Satbir Singh (Congress), and Kuldeep (Sanyukt Samaj Morcha), allthree are from Saini society. It also proves that the claims that are given bythe Punjab present CM and Punjab Congress of making a Dalit CM also goes south.
Banga: Dr. SK Sukhi, a SAD BSP candidate and currentMLA, is a strong candidate in this district. Sukhi's image is also evident as aresult of the BSP-SAD alliance. However, Tirlochan Sundh of the Congress andKuljeet Sarhal of the AAP have formed a triangular contest.
Big Issues:
The majority of the concerns stem from the state siteitself. Where the Akali BSP is criticizing Congress's work over the last fiveyears, Congressmen are soliciting votes in the name of CM Channi.
Caste factor:
Banga's seat is reserved due to caste. It has a maximum of42 percent SC voters, and close to 18 percent Jatt Sikh votes
Balachaur: Sunita Chaudhary of the Akali BSP andSantosh Kataria of the AAP are vying for the seat now held by Congress MLADarshan Lal Mangpur. Kataria is campaigning on behalf of Mann and Kejriwal. AfterJP Nadda's rally, the BJP has also entered the race.
Big Issues:
1. Sand mafia
2. Drug trade
The opposition is also trying to surround Congress on thisissue.
While Congress is seeking votes in the name of the openingof colleges, ITIs, and roads.
Caste factor:
Balachaur is a Gujjar majority seat and has close to 30%Gujjar votes. Apart from this, SC and Jatt Sikhs are around 22 to 25%. In allthe major parties, only Gujjar candidates have been given tickets.
Hoshiarpur
In Hoshiarpur, the tough fight can be seen in BJP andCongress. There is tough competition between Sundar Sham Arora vs BJPex-minister Tikshan Sood. Tikshan Sood, a seasoned BJP politician from thedistrict, has been handed the ticket. Sood made headlines last year after arun-in with farmers during the farmers' uprising. Tikshan has been elected tothe Hoshiarpur Assembly twice. He did, however, lose in 2012 and 2017. TheCongress, on the other side, has nominated cabinet minister Sunder Sham Arorafor the seat.
Garhshankar: Last time, AAP candidate Jai Krishan wonwith a margin of 1,650 votes. This time,AAP, Akali Dali, and BJP have triangular competition. Nimisha Mehta, a Congressleader who just joined the BJP, has been declared as a candidate for theGarhshankar seat, despite being denied the ticket. Congress has nominatedAmarpreet Singh Lali to run for the seat of Garhshankar. Because of her,Congress seems to be out of the contest.
Mukerian: Mukerian has been playing a major role inthe politics of Hoshiarpur. The candidates elected from Mukerian light havebeen ministers in the governments from time to time, whether it is the Congressor the Akali Dal-BJP coalition government.
Jangi Lal Mahajan, is a businessman who has been a member ofthe BJP since 1967. (earlier with Jana Sangh). For the past nine years, he hasserved as the BJP's district president in Hoshiarpur. He was elected unopposedas a councilor in 1992 and again in 1998. He is in the fight with Akali Dalleader Sarabjot Singh Sabi. He began his political career at an early age. Hewas the circle president of the Youth Akali Dal at the age of 22. Sabi has beena prominent opponent of unlawful mining in the Kandi area and is regarded as aclose aide of Sukhbir Badal.
Dasuha: When it comes to Dasuha, the Dogra familyplays a significant role in the Punjab Congress. Or, to put it another way, theDasuha has been the Congress's unassailable fort. Arun Dogra Mikki is thecurrent Congress MLA from Dasuha, and he is running for re-election from thesame seat. MLA Dogra's father, Ramesh Chand Dogra, was a Dasuha communityleader with his own identity.
Chabewal: Fight can be seen in BSP and Congress. TheThandal family is quite enthusiastic about SAD (B) in Halka Chabbewal. SohanSingh is in the fray from the SAD ticket in these elections. MLA Thandal hasheld the post of Animal Husbandry and Jail Minister in the Akali-BJPgovernment.
Sham Chaurasi: Neck-to-neck fight can be seen inCongress and AAP. Bibi Mahidar Kaur Josh has contested elections from Akali Dalafter her father Arjun Singh Josh. Bibi Josh has contested four times in whichshe has been MLA from Halka Sham Chaurasi twice. But this time she is rebellingagainst Akali Dal Badal and is in the fray. Or rather say that even though sheis not in the Akali Dal but is still enthusiastic in politics.
Udmud Tanda: Here again, the contest is on betweenCongress and AAP. The Udmur Tanda's elected MPs have also served as ministersin various governments. Surjit Kaur was elected as a Congress candidate andserved as Minister of Education, although her family is no longer interested inpolitics. Apart from that, Sangat Singh Giljian, who is the forest minister anda sitting MLA. Giljian is still a fervent supporter of politics, and this timehe's running for Congress.
Kapurthala
Rana Gurjeet Singh from Congress is in fight. He also had anunceremonious retirement from the Cabinet in 2017 due to corruptionallegations, but he has since made a successful comeback in the current Channigovernment's Cabinet. The three-time MLA, who is popular among the electorate,has sparked a slew of scandals in the run-up to the 2022 elections. He is incompetition with AAP candidate Manju Rana from Kapurthala, to take on powerfulpoliticians. Despite the fact that she is from Jalandhar, she was picked as aKapurthala candidate due to her service in the area.
Sultanpur Lodhi: Sultanpur Lodhi has become a hotseat in the upcoming Assembly election, ever since Punjab minister Rana GurjeetSingh stated that his son Inder Partap Singh would run against existing MLA andofficial candidate Navtej Cheema. The alleged improper usage of hundreds ofthousands of dollars by the state government ahead of the 550th Guru NanakParkash Purb, which is considered a Panthic seat, has also become an issuehere. During these elections, the minister and MLA have traded accusations andcounter-allegations on a regular basis.
Phagwara: Phagwara, located on National Highwa-1, isa notable NRI-dominated city in Punjab. It is well-connected by train and road,but it is 40 kilometres from Kapurthala's district headquarters. It is a reservedconstituency with 50 urban wards and 91 villages. It has given equalopportunities to both the Congress and the BJP. This year's election inPhagwara features candidates from the SAD-BSP alliance, the BJP, the Congress,and the AAP. The BJP, on the other hand, has yet to play its cards.
Bholath: Bholath, Nadala, and Begowal are semi-ruralconstituencies in the Kapurthala district. For the previous five terms, theseat has seen a hard battle between Sukhpal Khaira and Jagir Kaur (herson-in-law last time), with Jagir Kaur winning three times and Khaira two. Withthe exception of Jagir Kaur, all of the major candidates this time hail fromthe Congress.