A two-time Akali Dal MLA from Sahnewal and a former cabinet minister, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon entered the 2022 contest with experience and familiarity on his side. Yet, he finished third with 41,772 votes (23.4%), as the seat slipped away amid a shifting political mood. Once considered Akali Dal’s natural face in Sahnewal, his loss raised tough questions about legacy versus relevance. As 2027 approaches, does Dhillon still remain the party’s safest bet here or has Sahnewal moved on from past candidates ? And can experience alone counter changing voter expectations ?
Rating
A) Dhillon’s two-term legacy still gives him relevance.
B) The 2022 defeat exposed fatigue with familiar faces.
C) Akali Dal risks stagnation by relying on past winners.
D) 2027 will decide whether experience still matters in Sahnewal.
Once a lifelong Congress face who never tired of reminding Punjab of his legacy, Captain Amarinder Singh didn’t just switch parties at the fag end of his career, he moved his entire political household. His wife Preneet Kaur and daughter Jai Inder Kaur are now also in the BJP, turning what was once a personal break with Congress into a full family shift. What makes it sharper is that Congress didn’t formally push him out; he chose the exit. Yet, after joining the BJP, Captain Amarinder has publicly sulked about not being consulted and hinted at the party’s rigid style, a strange place for a man who once ran Punjab on his own terms. From commanding the Congress for decades to negotiating space in a new party, has this move added to his stature or reduced a towering career to a footnote ?
कभी कांग्रेस की पहचान रहे कैप्टन अमरिंदर सिंह ने अपने राजनीतिक सफर के आख़िरी दौर में सिर्फ पार्टी नहीं बदली, बल्कि पूरा पारिवारिक रुख भी बदल दिया। उनकी पत्नी प्रनीत कौर और बेटी जय इंदर कौर भी अब बीजेपी में हैं, जिससे यह फैसला निजी नहीं, बल्कि पूरा पारिवारिक बदलाव बन गया। दिलचस्प यह है कि कांग्रेस ने उन्हें बाहर का रास्ता नहीं दिखाया था; उन्होंने खुद अलग राह चुनी। लेकिन बीजेपी में जाने के बाद भी अमरिंदर सिंह ने कई बार इशारा किया कि उनसे सलाह नहीं ली जाती और पार्टी का ढांचा काफी सख्त है। जो नेता कभी पंजाब की राजनीति अपने तरीके से चलाता था, क्या आज वही नई पार्टी में अपनी जगह तलाशता दिख रहा है ? क्या यह फैसला उनकी विरासत को मजबूत करता है या एक लंबे करियर को हल्का कर देता है ?
Vaninder Kaur Loomba’s political journey in Shutrana did not begin in defeat. As an Akali Dal MLA in 2012, she built her base the hard way, through organisation and local presence. A decade later, the 2022 result went heavily in AAP’s favour, but waves pass and recall often returns. With Shutrana now entering a phase where performance will matter more than slogans, does Loomba’s experience and ground connect still give her an edge as 2027 approaches ? And could voters once again turn to a tested local face over a party-heavy narrative ?
