Amarinder Bajaj’s Main Task Is To Tackle Factionalism

The newly elected Patiala Mayor Amarinder Bajaj has many hard-hitting challenges in the coming time. Bajaj requires to tame groupism, both inside and outside the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD); the financial disaster Patiala Municipal Corporation (MC) locates itself in; and pacifying the traders who are violently defending the execution of Property Tax in the region.

The most thought-provoking job for the 34-year-old Bajaj will be to keep his group together as 4 factions had been slugging it out for the position before Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal’s interfered to resolve the matter. Amarinder was later selected unanimously. The fight was among ex Mayor Ajitpal Singh Kohli, Harpal Juneja, Jaspal Singh Bittu Chattha, Amarinder Bajaj and Jaspal Pardhan. What makes this matter so serious is that Bajaj never had the support of local cabinet minister Surjit Singh Rakhra who was encouraging Jaspal Singh Bittu Chattha.

Surjit Singh was involved in getting Jaspal Pardhan chosen Mayor in the previous polls, but, this time around, his name did not even feature in the 3-member group that was chosen to monitor the councillors and suggest a name for the Mayor’s position.

On confronting opposition from a variety of quarters, he said, “There are no differences with any minister and I hope senior political leaders will carry on guiding me,” he added.