AAP Candidates
HS Phoolka (61)
Dakha
A Supreme Court lawyer, he has been fighting the cases of victims of the anti-Sikh riots. Joined AAP in 2014 and contested from Ludhiana in the Lok Sabha poll. Lost to Congress candidate Ravneet Bittu; pushed Akali nominee and Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali to the third spot. In 2015, he stepped down from the party posts. Last month, when the AAP youth manifesto kicked up a row, Phoolka sought pardon on behalf of AAP by performing 'sewa' at the Golden Temple.
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Himmat Singh Shergill (36)
SAS Nagar
An alumnus of Lawrence School (Sanawar), he heads the legal wing of the party in Punjab. Barrister-at-Law from England, he is a lawyer in the Supreme Court. Shot into limelight when he secured over three lakh votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll against stalwarts Prem Singh Chandumajra (Akali Dal) and Ambika Soni (Congress) from the Anandpur Sahib seat. Got around 51,000 votes from SAS Nagar Assembly segment, comfortably ahead of his rivals.
Mohan Singh Phalianwala (60)
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Sajjan Singh Cheema (59)
Sultanpur Lodhi
An Arjuna awardee, he is the head of the sports wing of the party and the NRI wing (Australia). He represented India in the 1982 Asian Games. He also served as SSP, Vigilance, and head of the anti-riot police in the state. Hailing from Dabulian village in Kapurthala, he was once close to PPP founder and now Congress leader Manpreet Badal. He said: "The party cannot accommodate every section. Our aim is to take everyone along and work in unison for party's victory."
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Gurvinder Shampura (58)
Fatehgarh Churian
Became a Zila Parishad member in 1994 after contesting as an Independent. A loyalist of former SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra, he was expelled from the SAD in 2006 by the then president Parkash Singh Badal after he contested against the official candidate, Avtar Singh Makkar, in the SGPC elections. Shampura lost by 104 votes in a House of 170. Remained an SGPC member from 1996 to 2011 and served as the chairman of the Batala sugar mill. Was also the secretary of Sikh National College, Qadian.
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Harjot Singh Bains (25)
Sahnewal
A lawyer, he is the president of the state AAP youth wing and a founder-convener of the party. Was chosen as the youngest member of the AAP national executive. Is also the party observer for Chandigarh. He actively supported Anna Hazare’s movement and later came close to Delhi CM and party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal. Has been fighting for the rights of the youth by organising rallies and conferences.
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Rajpreet S Randhawa
Ajnala
A social activist with a Congress background, he joined AAP five months ago. Was the president of the Municipal Council, Ramdass, between 2008 and 2013 (his father Surjit Singh Randhawa and grandfather Uttam Singh Randhawa have also held the top post in the municipal council). Has been conducting mass marriage of poor girls for the past several years. Belongs to a well-off agricultural family and has stayed in the US.
Inderbir Singh Nijjer (61)
Amritsar South
A noted radiologist, he joined AAP two years ago and is now the convener of its intellectual cell in Amritsar. Associated with Pingalwara, he has been providing free medical aid to its inmates. Has also been a member of Rotary Club and a trust member with various health institutes, including Sri Guru Ram Dass Charitable Hospital and Sri Guru Ram Das Dental Hospital. A nature lover, he is also keen to focus on eco-friendly activities.
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Brig Raj Kumar (59)
Balachaur
Hailing from Hajipur village in Balachaur, he retired from the Army in October 2015 and joined AAP in January this year. He was part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987 and also took part in the military operations against LTTE in Sri Lanka. The former Army officer was one of the experts on the panel to review security measures post-26/11 Mumbai terror attack. He is the four-time recipient of the Chief of Army Staff commendation letter.
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Santokh Singh Salana
Bassi Pathana
He served as a patwari in the Irrigation Department in Haryana, but left the job and joined the BSP. He later joined the Kanshi Ram Sangharsh Morcha. He contested the SGPC elections as a Panthic Morcha candidate in 2011. In 2014, he joined AAP. He is party's general secretary of the SC/ST wing. He belongs to Salana village falling in the Amloh sub-division. Considered an outsider in Bassi Pathana, local AAP workers are not happy over his nomination.
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Rupinder Kaur Rubi (27)
Bathinda (rural)
She has been part of AAP's 'Parivar Jodo' and 'Punjab Jodo' campaigns and the ongoing signature drive. Pursuing PhD in Law from PU, the zonal incharge of the party's women wing entered the AAP fold in 2013 along with her father Malkiat Singh, who retired from the Soil Conservation Department in 2012. Lists unemployment, drug menace and farmer suicides as the major problems afflicting Punjab, but calls corruption the mother of all evils.
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Jasvir Singh Sekhon (46)
Dhuri
Joined PPP in 2011. Shifted along with Bhagwant Mann to AAP in March 2014. Worked initially as Sangrur district party convener. In 2015, he was promoted as zonal coordinator of Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency. A farmer, he hails from Dayalpur Chhanna village in Dhuri. Got admission to Guru Nanak Engineering College, Ludhiana, but left Bachelor of Civil Engineering course midway. Along with his friends, he runs an NGO, Sukhmani Foundation.
Gurdit Singh Sekhon (52)
Faridkot
Born in a family of Taksali Akalis, he was a national-level basketball player who took premature retirement from the Punjab Police in 2010. Two years later, the former constable and his team built pressure on the state government by staging protest marches and dharnas against a girl's kidnapping, allegedly by gangster Nishan Singh. He also led a campaign for the recovery of missing children and formed a front against 'goondagardi' to help the common man fight injustice
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Samarbir Singh Sidhu (25)
Fazilka
A nambardar of Rampura village, he has been associated with AAP programmes over the past two years. Belongs to an affluent Jat Sikh family with a landholding of about 45 acres. His father, late Parminder Singh Sidhu, was a three-time sarpanch owing allegiance to the Congress. After his death in an accident in 2005, Samarbir's mother was elected sarpanch. The political greenhorn is likely to face two veteran leaders - minister Surjit Kumar Jyani (BJP) and Mohinder Kumar Rinwa (Congress)
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Kultar Singh Sandhwa (49)
Kotkapura
Grand-nephew of former President Giani Zail Singh, he was elected sarpanch of Sandhwan village during his Congress days. In 2006, he faced a criminal case for alleged misappropriation of old age pension in his village; was later acquitted. In the 2012 Assembly poll, he failed to get the Congress ticket from the Faridkot seat. During Anna Hazare's agitation in 2011, he was a vocal supporter of the Jan Lok Pal Bill. Heads the Giani Zail Singh Centre for Rural Development in Punjab
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Ahbaab Singh Grewal (37)
Ludhiana West
A Bachelor of Arts, he ran a spoken English and IELTS institute for two years in Ludhiana before moving to London in 2008. He worked there as a logistics and security manager at the Olympic Park in London. Came back in 2011 and joined AAP as a volunteer in 2012. Was made district convener and later elevated to the post of general secretary, Kisan and Labour Wing (Punjab). Has been holding meetings with farmers and labour unions in the state.
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Gurpreet Singh Lapran (33)
Payal
Born in a poor family, Lapran studied in government schools and later did graduation in arts. His father, Darshan Singh, was a Class-IV employee in the state Health Department. He claims to have been rewarded for the work done during the 2014 LS poll, in which AAP made history by winning four seats. He is now the vice-president of the SC/ST cell of the party. Says he believes in the teachings of all saints who advocate selfless service.
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Jagdeep Singh Brar (49)
Muktsar
Contested as an Independent and got elected as a municipal councillor in 2002. Later, he fought the MC poll as an Akali candidate and won again. Quit the SAD and joined People's Party of Party, then left PPP as well and crossed over to AAP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. An agriculturist, he belongs to neighbouring Fattanwala village. He is a relative of senior SAD leader Tejinder Singh Middukhera. His elder sister, Gurpreet Kaur Brar, was an active member of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's movement.
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Amarjeet Singh (38)
Roopnagar
A taxi operator, he is a native of Sandoa village in Nurpur Bedi block. Left for New Delhi in search of a job in 1997 and started working as a helper at a taxi stand. Now, he has 14 vehicles of his own at the Sarita Vihar taxi stand on the Faridabad road. Campaigned for AAP during the Delhi Assembly poll in 2015. One of his sister-in-laws is the sarpanch of his village. His uncle, Dilbag Singh, is a former SAD block samiti member and an ex-sarpanch
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Ferozepur (Rural)
Two-time MP from Ferozepur recently switched over to AAP from the Bahujan Samaj Party. Was associated with BSP for over three decades. The Rai Sikh became state party president in 1986. Defeated the then PPCC chief Santokh Singh Randhawa in 1992 LS poll. Beat Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar by 59,912 votes in 1996 LS poll. Lost to Zora Singh Mann (SAD) in the 1999 parliamentary election. Unsuccessfully contested the Assembly poll from Guru Har Sahai (2007 ) and Fazilka (2012).
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Read more at HT link;
AAP steals a march over opponents
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx