Tale of two flags: Bajwas are a divided house in Qadian

On the palatial house of the Bajwas in Qadian constituency in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, a lone Congress party flag used to flutter in good old times.

But not anymore. Passers-by can now see a saffron BJP flag alongside its Congress counterpart, a reflection of what's going on inside the walls of one of Punjab's prominent political families.

The family’s two brothers — Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congressman Partap Bajwa and his younger brother and sitting Congress MLA from Qadian Fateh Jung Bajwa — have fallen apart owing to their political ambitions.

Partap and Fateh stay in the same mansion on separate floors but are now pulling in opposite directions over contesting from Qadian for the Assembly polls.

The fallout happened after elder brother Partap, a two-time MP and a three-time MLA, declared his intention to contest as a Congress candidate from Qadian. Sensing his worth, the Congress too announced him as the party nominee from this constituency.

This was bad news for younger brother Fateh, who had won on a Congress ticket in the last Assembly polls. Fateh didn’t waste time and joined the BJP queering the pitch.

As political ambitions strained ties between the two brothers, a face-off appears on the cards.

The BJP is likely to announce Fateh as its nominee from Qadian. The younger brother blames Partap for dislodging him from the Qadian constituency. Both now talk as rivals.

Qadian is the stronghold of the Bajwa family.

In 2012, Partap’s wife Charanjit Kaur had won the seat by 16,000 votes. In 2017, the seat remained within the family and Fateh beat his nearest rival of the SAD by 12,000 votes on the Congress ticket.

Fateh claims he has earned the affection of the people of Qadian for his work at the grassroot level.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Pratap beat three-time MP and film icon late Vinod Khanna by 8,000 votes from Gurdaspur.

Sources said Fateh may also be given a ticket from the Batala constituency.

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