The outcome of the polling in four out of the 13 constituencies in Punjab on Thursday involves high stakes for both the top political families of the state. In fact, these four are considered more prestigious than all other constituencies in the state put together.

Former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur is the Congress candidate from Patiala constituency, while their son Raninder is in the fray from Bathinda. Raninder is facing Harsimrat Kaur, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and daughter-in-law of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) put up Harsimrat from Bathinda after much deliberation, though the Badals had declared that the seat would certainly be contested by a family member. She is in the poll fray for the first time, but had been active in the area for some time with social campaigns like Nanhi Chhan to protect the girl child. Raninder too is a rookie, though he had earlier been assisting his parents in managing their election campaigns.

It is, thus, a fight for supremacy between the two top political families of the state. This also remains the dominant issue in their bitter speeches and even among the voters. Although the influential Dera Sacha Sauda has decided not to declare open support for any political party in these elections, all indications are that the Dera has spread the word to favour the Congress candidate.

In Patiala, Preneet Kaur is out to score a hat-trick having won the previous two elections with a comfortable majority. She is however pitted against Akali stalwart Prem Singh Chandumajra, who too has won the seat twice. For Chandumajra this is a royal-versus-commoner fight and claims “Maharani” Preneet Kaur is not accessible to the masses. She, on the other hand, has been counting the various developmental projects initiated by her in the constituency.

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