Manpreet, Kahlon among BJP’s bypoll probables from Gidderbaha and Barnala respectively

(Blurb) Party likely to announce list any time now
The BJP is said to have almost finalised the names for the November 13 bypolls to the four assembly seats of Gidderbaha, Chabbewal, Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala. Formal announcement by the party is expected any time now, people familiar with the development said.
Former finance minister Manpreet Badal and former Congress MLA Kewal Dhillon are set to be fielded from Gidderbaha and Barnala seats, respectively, and the party has already directed them to prepare for nomination papers. Former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Ravi Karan Kahlon has also been conveyed reportedly to be get ready to contest polls from Dera Baba Nanak. Kahlon is son of former Punjab assembly speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon.
Kahlon had contested the assembly polls in 2022 from Dera Baba Nanak seat and lost to Congress’ Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa by a wafer-thin margin of 466 votes. Kahlon joined the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls early this year. After joining the saffron party, his graph fell down as the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha polls could get only 10,000 votes from this seat. According to BJP insiders, he is the only “best suited” name from this segment which is a rural belt where the BJP traditionally hardly has any presence.
According to information, from Chabbewal the BJP is eyeing to field Harminder Singh Sandhu, an AAP leader who had contested 2022 assembly polls from Chabbewa (reserved) and got 39,729 votes against now AAP MP and then Congress candidate Raj Kumar Chabbewal.
Chabbewal had joined the AAP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls after resigning as Congress MLA. His election as the Lok Sabha MP from Hoshiarpur has necessitated the bypoll. Interestingly, the Congress is also eyeing to field Sandhu from the seat as the party is also facing dearth of candidates from the seat after Chabbewal decided to quit the party to join the AAP.
The party is also considering fielding senior BJP leader and National Commission for Scheduled Castes’ former chairman Vijay Sampla from this seat. In 2022, the BJP had fielded Dr Dilbag Rai from the seat but he could get mere 4,073 votes.
It is learnt that state BJP general secretary and retired IAS Jagmohan Singh Raju was also lobbying from the seat to the ticket citing his ancestral links with the constituency. “The party is also likely to announce candidates for the by-polls likely on Tuesday,” he said.