Sons pose as poster boys for candidates ahead of the Punjab Assembly Elections 

As sons pose as poster boys this Assembly Elections, it marks a clear move by candidates to use their election campaign as a strategy to debut their political heirs 

Across Punjab, candidates for the upcoming Assembly Elections are projecting their sons as poster boys to boost their election campaign. This proves to be an evident move by prominent candidates to introduce their tentative political heirs to the public foray just ahead of the elections.  

While Prime Minister Modi might have expressed discontent in the past over dynastic politics popularized by Congress Raj in India, his party in Batala seems to be following close in the footsteps of their Congress opponent.

The industrial town of Batala is thronged by huge hoardings of Congress candidate Ashwani Sekhri and his opponent from BJP, Fateh Jung Bajwa. Images of his son, Abhinav, populate Sekhri’s posters.

On the other hand, Bajwa’s posters have the candidate’s two sons, Kanwar Pratap and Arjun Pratap, on either side of him. The hoardings of both Congress and BJP candidates boast pictures of their sons right beside them.  

This trend of using the election campaign as a strategic forum for launching dynastic political heirs seems to be widespread across parties. Akali Dal’s candidate Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal contesting for the Fatehgarh Churian constituency is seen beside his son Kanwar Sandeep Singh Sunny, who has recently returned from Canada in the hoardings.

His opponent from the Congress, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, mirrors the trend as he reserves a prominent position for Ravi Nandan Bajwa on the party’s hoardings. 

In December, Ravi Bajwa, chairman of Gurdaspur Zila Parishad, was expected to contest as an Independent candidate from Batala but was advised to give up on that pursuit on the advice of the Congress High Command. It seems that Tript Bajwa is ensuring that Ravi remains in the public eye through his prominent place on every party poster. 

Moving on, at Dera Baba Nanak, State Home Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa sports a beaming smile as he stands with his arm around his son, Uday Vir Singh Randhawa, who is still an undergraduate student. He is the youngest poster boy in this election campaign.

A brief overview of the initiation of the candidates’ sons into politics: 

Congress MLA and candidate contesting from Bhucho Mandi, who was entwined in chit fund scam allegations in 2018, has wanted to allow his son, Rupinder Pal Singh, to get the party ticket this time. Although Rupinder, a Youth Congress member, has missed out on the ticket, he sports a prominent place on hoardings with his father.  

Commenting on this trend of using sons as posters of boys in election campaigns, Jaspreet Singh Dhillon, sarpanch of Arlibhan village, observes that candidates are promoting their sons as political heirs. He finds it attractive that “it was never done so openly in the past.”   

The Bajwas of Batala have been in the political arena for years now. Fateh Jung Bajwa’s younger son Arjun Pratap says that he has been campaigning on behalf of his father since the tender age of 10. His first official foray into politics was with his win in the Zila Parishad polls from Sri Hargobindpur in 2018 when he was 25.

On the other hand, Bajwa’s elder son, Kanwar Pratap, is the Youth Congress general secretary apart from the state chief of the All India Jat Mahasabha’s youth wing.  

A newcomer to the world of politics, Abhinav, son of Ashwani Sekhri, is busy walking through Batala every day to campaign for his father, who has been a three-time MLA.  

This trend of promoting sons openly as political heirs have fallen to criticism from a market committee member at Goniara who expressed his discontent in these words:

“By openly flaunting their sons on hoardings, these leaders are sending a message that the top spot would always be reserved for the family. It is very disheartening. How can you say we are living in a free India.”  

Edited by: Mahi Gupta

Published by: Vishakha Verma