Five women in fray for LS seat in Faridkot

In a state where only 19 women are contesting Lok Sabha polls as against 234 men candidates, the Faridkot (SC) seat can boast of five of them in the fray with the sitting SAD MP Paramjit Kaur Gulshan taking on, among others, two contestants who share her first name.

Political observers are of the opinion that it will be a tough fight for anybody who is looking to unseat SAD in Faridkot, which is considered to be a traditional bastion of the Akalis.

Seven of the nine Assembly segments in this constituency are with Shiromani Akali Dal while Congress has two legislators here.

Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, the candidate for the ruling SAD- BJP combine, had won the seat by a margin of over 60,000 votes in 2009 and would be confident about retaining it this time.

Although her strongest challenger is certain to be three- time Congress MLA Joginder Singh, it is the presence in the fray of two other candidates with the same name which has added a curious twist to the contest.

Her namesakes Paramjit Kaur of Bahujan Mukti Party and Paramjeet Kaur, who has entered the fray as an Independent, may not pose any significant threat to her although their presence on the list of candidates may confuse electors during voting.

But not only Gulshan, the man being seen as her most serious opponent here, Congress' Joginder Singh, too, has a rival in the fray who shares his name. The namesake Joginder Singh is contesting as an Independent candidate.

There are a total of 19 candidates in the fray for this reserved constituency and, apart from SAD-BJP and Congress, AAP, BSP and CPI, too, have fielded nominees here.

Polling in the constituency will be held on Wednesday. There are total 14.33 lakh voters.

Gulshan, the wife of a retired judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, had defeated Congress' Sukhwinder Singh Danny here in 2009.

But this time she may have to contend against an anti- incumbency factor with her detractors claiming she has stayed away from the constituency.