HS Phooka
Ravneet Bittu
Ludhiana, Punjab (May 17, 2014)—Senior Advocate of Supreme Court, S. Harwinder Singh Phoolka who had fought legal battle against accused of 1984 Sikh genocide, lost with very low margin of 19, 709 votes. Congress candidate Ravneet Bittu, grandson of human rights abuser, ex-Chief Minister Beant “Singh” bagged 3 lakh (300,459) votes. The thin victory margin is not surprising as the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency, comprising nine Assembly constituencies, saw a four-cornered contest. Phoolka finished a close second to Bittu, polling 2,80,750 votes.
On the other hand, both legislators — Manpreet Ayali (SAD candidate) and Simarjeet Bains (Independent candidate) — had to bite the dust. Bains, however, retained his edge in Atam Nagar and Ludhiana South Assembly seats. He is an MLA from Atam Nagar while his brother, Balwinder Bains, is an MLA from Ludhiana South.
Supporters of HS Phoolka are sad over the thin margin defeat in Ludhiana. Many Sikh organizations and eminent personalities including the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Bhai Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, Sikh Student Federation and others had worked hard to ensure victory of Sikh legal crusader. Some supporters say that election campaign committee of Mr. Phoolka could not facilitate the campaign systematically, otherwise Phoolka would have won.