India General Elections 2024: 'AAP will rule in Punjab'

Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal the Aam Aadmi Party AAP candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency is contesting for the second time against the incumbent MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla of the Congress Dhaliwal currently serving as an MLA for the Ajnala assembly constituency is also a cabinet minister in the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant MannHe holds the portfolios for Rural Development and Panchayats Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and NRI Affairs During a campaign visit to Amritsar Dhaliwal took team midday through several areas of the constituency to understand and address local issues The visit included a stop at K D Ganesha Hospital where Dhaliwal engaged with the hospital staff to learn about their challengesKuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann during a rallyAs the campaign convoy moved to Sandhu Colony Dhaliwal navigated the narrow bylanes that vehicles struggle to pass through if another vehicle comes from the opposite direction In these bylanes he held meetings with locals who voiced their concerns about the sewage water line Dhaliwal assured them that he would work towards resolving these issuesWhile walking through the streets Dhaliwal pointed out an electric pole situated in the middle of the road obstructing traffic He explained that despite the efforts of local authorities the pole had not been relocated Dhaliwal promised that if elected as an MP his first task would be to move the pole to a safer location demonstrating his commitment to improving infrastructure and public safety Dhaliwalrsquos handson approach and promises of practical solutions aim to win the confidence of Amritsarrsquos residents as he strives to unseat the incumbent MP and bring change to the constituencyExcerpts from an interviewhellipBeing an MLA you got a chance to run for MP What do you have to say about thisI am happy that my superiors believed in me and gave me the opportunity I think I would be the first person to get three different positions in less than five yearshellip first an MLA then a minister with three departments and now an MP contestant The responsibility is big and there is much to be done I am getting a good response from the public and Irsquom ready to accept the responsibility and work for the citizensCM Bhagwant Mann while campaigning is saying lsquoIss Baar Zero Parrsquo Who is he referring toWe are referring to the Akali Dal and Badal family Because the situation they are going through is very bad and the people of Punjab too need a change on the groundThe polling date of June 1 coincides with the date of Operation Blue Star in 1984hellipI will tell the citizens to remember the day when the Congress government attacked the Golden Temple and left it completely damaged The people should remember that and not vote for CongressDuring a roadshow Bhagwant Mann said the INDIA bloc will form a government at the Centre soon and that he will make you a minister Isnrsquot it too early to declare thisOur chief minister is confident about me and Punjab Also he has some idea about the present political scenario all over India Hence he announced the sameAre you ready to take on the responsibilityYes I am always ready to work for the citizens Since 2015 I have been working politically and Irsquom sure I havenrsquot taken even a single holiday during the tenure I work 24 hours a day for the party and citizensYou are contesting against Congress in Amritsar but in other areas you have an allianceCongress is totally corrupted in Punjab So the Aam Aadmi Party didnrsquot go for an alliance in Punjab While in other states we have an alliance as we have to defeat BJP and Narendra ModiHow many seats will AAP get in Punjab out of the 13AAP will get all the 13 seats in Punjab We are getting a good response You can see BJP is in a bad state in Punjab They had the seat in the past but no work was done Congress is also ending in Punjab So we are leading hereEmployment is one of the biggest issues in Punjab What will you do about citizens going abroad for work and settling thereAAP and I personally want to do something big for employment so that citizens going abroad have a reason to stay back CM Bhagwant Mann is continuously working to bring industries and agro industries in Punjab It is big work to bring employment and we are confident that we will do it If one gets jobs in Punjab there will be no need to go broadYou were abroad for almost 13 years Why did you go and what made you returnI went in 2000 and returned in 2013 During that time there was terrorism Three of my family members had been killed My family suffered great losses So the only option left was to go abroad But the situation has changed now so I came back to work for the citizens and bring change in PunjabPM Narendra Modi came to campaign for BJP in PunjabhellipI said earlier too the BJP is nowhere in Punjab and they will see an end here as people donrsquot want themArvind Kejriwal your party chief and Delhi CM was jailed by the central government How do you think this will affect the electionsThe BJP has made a big mistake by putting Kejriwal behind bars The BJP will go down for this act The citizens will punish them for what they have doneWhat is the margin of votes you expect to win byI will win with a margin of at least 25 lakh votesWhat about farmersrsquo protests along the Punjab and Haryana bordersThe Modi government is responsible for the deaths of farmers protesting against the central governmentrsquos farm law Modi has still not asked for an apology from those responsible The farmers are also not given assistance or jobs or any other help Whatever help they receive comes from the Punjab government AAP demands apologies for the deaths of farmers and the central government should implement MSP across India which is the right of every farmer Also loans should be waived Modi has waived the loans of big people amounting to Rs 25 lakh crore But this hasnrsquot been done for farmer loans which are to the tune of Rs 90000 crore Those businessmen who benefited are living luxurious lives while the farmers are fighting for their livesProfile of Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwalgtgt First elected MLA in 2022 from Ajnala constituency a small town with around 166000 votersgtgt Launched development projects worth R320 crore in the last 2 yearsgtgt Reclaimed 11000 acres of government land worth R3000 crore from land mafia and encroachersgtgt Resolved 1500 NRI cases across Punjab and recovered USD 9 million for NRIsgtgt First minister in India to hold live Janta Darbar on social media platformgtgt Paid sugarcane farmers R400 crore which was pending for several yearsgtgt Rescued several Punjabis who were stranded abroad after being duped by visa agentsgtgt Launched investigation of 271 fake visa agents across Punjabgtgt Gave highest sugarcane price among all Indian states to farmers in Punjabgtgt Approached Canadian government for hundreds of Indian students facing student visa scamgtgt Distributed 23200 CRM machines to help farmers curb stubble burninggtgt First minister of Punjab to implement biometric attendance in Kheti Bhawan to ensure official accountability of government to peoplegtgt Created new agriculture policy to make farming profitablegtgt Banned sale of pesticides dangerous to human bodygtgt Implemented rights of women sarpanchesAmritsar Lok SabhaConstituencyGurjeet Singh Aujla of the Congress won the Amritsar constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections securing 445032 votes Aujla won with a margin of 99626 votes over BJPrsquos Hardeep Singh Puri who received 345406 votes Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal secured 20087 votes