LUCKNOW India—The Congress party plans to field Sikh the prime minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh in its Lok Sabha election campaign from the Sikh-dominated Puranpur Tehsil in Pilibhit constituency, known as the mini Punjab of Uttar Pradesh (UP), on Saturday. Sikhs from there are considered traditional supporters of Menaka Gandhi, and her son Varun Gandhi, who have been representing this seat since 1989. Congress plans to break into Menaka’s stronghold with rallies for the PM in Puranpur.
“A Sikh prime minister will challenge the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate who also comes from the same community, and has virtually converted Pilibhit into her pocket borough,” said local Sikh leader Simranjit Singh.
After partition, a large number of Sikhs who migrated from Pakistan were settled in Pilibhit under the rehabilitation plan of the center. With hard work and diligence, the Sikh community has prospered, and the rural area is dotted with big farmhouses, and swanky cars, the new status symbol. Though the population of the Sikh community in Pilibhit is around 125,000, they play a significant role in deciding the fate of the candidates in the Lok Sabha, as well as assembly elections. They also have influence over the backwards community, and Dalits who work for them. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress fielded VM singh, a Sikh candidate, against BJP’s Varun Gandhi. Though Singh lost, he stood second. The Congress managed to bag the nieghbouring Kheri seat that has a population of over 125,000 Sikhs.
