Sufi singer vs Punjabi actor: Punjab's Faridkot set to witness keen contest

Chandigarh: The Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab is set to see an interesting contest with the BJP fielding a prominent Sufi singer and AAP naming a well-known Punjabi actor and singer for the upcoming electoral fray.

Polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1.

The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Karamjit Anmol, while the BJP has named North West Delhi MP Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot, a reserved parliamentary constituency.

Currently, the seat is held by Congress MP Mohammad Sadique, a noted Punjabi folk singer.

The Congress is yet to announce its candidate from the constituency.

Hans, who has been into politics for the last 15 years, and is a sitting MP from North West Delhi constituency, will be trying his luck from his home state this time.

Asked how he sees AAP nominee Karamjit Anmol as a contestant against him, Hans said, "Anmol is my younger brother. Wherever he meets me, he respects me." On Congress MP Sadique, Hans said he was like a father figure to him.

"Whenever I meet him, I touch his feet. In Parliament, we meet each other. He is a legend and I respect him a lot," said the BJP candidate.

"I will speak about what I did there (Delhi) and what I will do here," Hans told PTI.

Hans, 62, also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he has done a lot for the Sikh community and cited the opening of the Kartarpur corridor as one of his achievements.

The corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.

Hans, born in Shafipur village in Jalandhar district, entered politics by joining the Shiromani Akali Dal in 2009 and unsuccessfully contested from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat.

He quit the SAD in 2014 and two years later, joined the Congress. He again switched sides and came into the BJP fold.

He became an MP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections by winning North West Delhi seat on BJP ticket.

Padma Shri awardee Hans has sung many famous Punjabi songs like 'Dil Tote Tote Ho Gaya', 'Dil Chori Sada Ho Gaya' and 'Nachi Jo Saade Naal'.

AAP nominee Anmol is a famous actor-singer who is considered close to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, along whom he campaigned during the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.

Anmol has acted in several hit films including 'Carry on Jatta', 'Nikka Zaildar' and 'Muklawa'.

At one of his public meetings, Anmol praised the Punjab CM for being honest.

Shiromani Akali Dal stalwart and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal became MP from Faridkot parliamentary constituency in 1977. The seat was also represented by Congress's Jagmeet Brar in 1991.

SAD leader Sukhbir Badal represented the constituency in parliament in 1996, 1998 and 2004.

In 2009, following a delimitation exercise, the Faridkot constituency turned into a reserved seat.

SAD candidate Paramjit Kaur Gulshan won the seat in 2009 while AAP nominee Sadhu Singh won in 2014.