The BJP flag.
Credit: PTI Photo
Barnala: BJP rule is synonymous with development and people are well aware of this, Kewal Singh Dhillon, the party's candidate from the Barnala assembly segment in Punjab, said adding that he is confident he will win the bypoll.
Dhillon, a former MLA, said the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab had "failed" on all fronts and the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress were "hand-in-glove" with each other.
The Barnala assembly seat fell vacant after Gurmeet Singh Hayer, the local MLA from the AAP, was elected from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat.
Hayer won the Barnala seat in 2017 and 2022 assembly polls.
Dhillon is facing Congress' Kuldeep Singh Kaka Dhillon, AAP's Harinder Singh Dhaliwal, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) nominee Govind Singh Mann and AAP rebel and Independent candidate Gurdeep Singh Batth in the bypoll.
The 74-year-old became an MLA from Barnala in 2007 and 2012 on Congress tickets. He joined the BJP in 2022.
He lost the Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll in 2022 and was at the fourth spot.
Campaigning for the November 20 bypoll, Dhillon gave himself the credit for the creation of Barnala as a district in 2006.
"It was because of my efforts, a road from Barnala to Ludhiana was rebuilt to facilitate the people of Barnala," he also claimed.
"A railway underbridge and a network of roads were built. We carried out several development projects in villages," Dhillon told PTI.
The BJP candidate said the ruling AAP has lost its credibility in the state. "People are already against the AAP government. They also know that the Congress and AAP are hand in glove. People know that wherever the BJP comes to power, be it Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, development takes place there.
"People have made up their mind this time to give votes to the BJP in the bypolls. The Lotus (BJP's poll symbol) will bloom in Barnala on November 23," he said.
The BJP nominee said the Mann government failed to rein in law and order in the state.
"The law and order has collapsed. The financial situation of the state is bad. I have been meeting people who are completely disappointed with the Bhagwant Mann regime," he claimed.
Dhillon blamed the state government for hardships faced by farmers in grain markets because of "tardy" paddy procurement. Farmers also complained of shortage of DAP fertiliser, he said.
"They (the AAP government) did not place any order for DAP fertiliser. Farmers could not get it for wheat sowing," said Dhillon.
He said he raised the issue with Union Minister J P Nadda, following which the fertiliser was supplied to meet the shortage.
Dhillon said the AAP could not run the government, alleging that it remained "ineffective" on all fronts.
"There is no section in the society which is satisfied with the AAP government," claimed Dhillon.
The bypolls to the four assembly seats – Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal and Barnala – will take place on November 20 and counting of votes will be held on November 23.