Chandigarh: Jai Inder Kaur, the daughter of former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, is ready to take up his political mantle. Involved with Patiala’s municipal politics for many years, she is now believed to be eyeing a bigger role at the national level.
Last month, when she accompanied her father to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rumours were rife that she was hoping to be fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the Patiala Lok Sabha seat in the upcoming general elections.
Jai Inder was appointed a 19-member ex officio member of the BJP state election committee announced on 29 February.
The 57-year-old had been a silent supporter of her parents’ political careers for decades. But in the past few years, she has emerged as an active leader, cultivating her family’s stronghold of Patiala. While uncertainty of who gets the BJP ticket in Patiala remains, Jai Inder is going all out to strengthen the women’s wing of the party.
As the Mahila Morcha head, she is busy organising marathon programmes for BJP’s women workers as part of a nationwide agenda ahead of the parliamentary polls.
ਅੱਜ ਭਾਜਪਾ ਮਹਿਲਾ ਮੋਰਚਾ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਚਲਾਏ ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਨਾਰੀ ਸ਼ਕਤੀ ਵੰਦਨ ਸਮਾਪਤੀ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਤਹਿਤ ਸਾਡੇ ਮਾਣਯੋਗ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਨਰਿੰਦਰ ਮੋਦੀ ਜੀ ਦਾ ਭਾਸ਼ਣ ਸਮੂਹ ਪਟਿਆਲਾ ਮਹਿਲਾ ਮੋਰਚਾ ਟੀਮ ਨਾਲ ਬੈਠਕੇ ਸੁਣਿਆ। pic.twitter.com/mKHfmxFHRD
— Jai Inder Kaur (@jaiinder_kaur) March 6, 2024
The Congress has a close eye on the political churning in Patiala, mainly because of a flurry of activity there involving Captain Amarinder Singh’s family. “The question is: who will the ticket go to? It could either be Preneet Kaur or Jai Inder Kaur. Our strategy and candidate will depend on that. Congress will be victorious in all 13 (Lok Sabha) seats in Punjab and Patiala will be no different,” Congress’ Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa told ThePrint Sunday.
As for the BJP’s Patiala unit, Preneet Kaur is their first choice for the Lok Sabha elections and Jai Inder Kaur for the assembly elections.
“Maharani sahiba has been an MP from this place four times and no candidate in Patiala from any party can compare with her,” said Vijay Sharma Kuka of the local BJP unit.
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Family’s shift from Congress to BJP
Jai Inder Kaur is married to Gurpal Singh Sandhawalia, the scion of the erstwhile Raja Sansi royal family of Lahore. Their elder son Angad is married to Aparajita, daughter of Congress veteran and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister the late Virbhadra Singh, while their younger son Nirwan is married to Princess Mriganka Singh, great-granddaughter of Hari Singh, the last ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Jai Inder joined the BJP in September 2022, along with her father and brother Raninder, when Captain Amarinder merged his Punjab Lok Congress with the BJP. She was appointed the vice-president of Punjab BJP in December that year.
In July 2023, she was the star attraction at a BJP rally in Patiala to celebrate nine years of the Modi government. In September that year, she was appointed president of the Mahila Morcha of the party’s Punjab unit.
Jai Inder made headlines in July 2023 when she had a heated argument with Punjab minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Chetan Singh Jouramajra over the distribution of flood relief material in Patiala. A video of the spat had then gone viral.
Her parents, who were once dyed-in-the-wool Congress leaders, parted ways with the party in 2021. Captain Amarinder Singh was unceremoniously removed as chief minister to be replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi in 2021. A furious Amarinder floated his own party, the Punjab Lok Congress, and allied with the BJP to fight the 2022 assembly polls.
Jai Inder campaigned vigorously for the party across Punjab.
The Punjab Lok Congress, however, failed to win any of the 28 seats it contested, garnering only 0.54 percent of the total votes polled in the state. Captain Amarinder then merged his party with the BJP a few months later and has since been waiting to be given a responsibility commensurate to his dignity and position as a veteran of Punjab politics.
His wife Preneet Kaur had won the Patiala parliamentary seat four times as a Congress candidate since 1999. She is the current MP from Patiala but was suspended from the Congress in February 2023 for “anti-party” activities.
A refined and graceful politician, Preneet Kaur is known as “Maharani sahiba” in Patiala and has a strong rapport with the women of the city. Kaur, now 80 years old, is still politically active and often joins her daughter during BJP events. On 5 March, she and Jai Inder Kaur flagged off a special train to Ayodhya, carrying devotees to visit the Ram Mandir.
Flagged off the 2nd special train from Patiala to Ayodhya taking pilgrims to pay obeisance at Sri Ram Mandir today. Grateful to PM Shri @narendramodi and Railway minister @AshwiniVaishnaw ji for accepting my request and facilitating 2 special trains from Patiala. pic.twitter.com/Tp6whP7fLo
— Preneet Kaur (@preneet_kaur) March 5, 2024
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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