Jalandhar: The year 2025 proved turbulent for several prominent figures in J-Town and its surrounding areas, particularly those involved in politics. While it brought setbacks for many, some managed to carve out their own space and rose to prominence. The biggest shock of the year came for Jalandhar Central Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raman Arora. Arora was arrested in two cases—one by the Vigilance Bureau in a fraud case related to the municipal corporation’s town planning section, and the other for extortion from a parking contractor. He remained in jail for over four months. During this time, a significant shift occurred in the city’s politics. A newcomer to the political arena, businessman Nitin Kohli, made his mark and has since been making decisions as the constituency in-charge, while Arora is out on bail and still holds the MLA position. Deepak Bali, who was vying for the same position, received a significant post as state general secretary.
The AAP also saw rapid changes in the chairmanship of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust. Jagtar Sanghera, who had raised several serious complaints about scams within the trust, was removed from the chairman’s post. He was replaced by Rajwinder Thiara in March of this year. Thiara’s tenure as JIT chief lasted only five months, as he was also replaced by Ramnik Singh Lucky Randhawa. If there was unrest in the AAP camp, the Congress camp in Doaba was also experiencing turmoil. Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary, who had been suspended last year for opposing Charanjit S Channi’s candidature from the Jalandhar seat during the parliamentary elections, was reinstated. The camps of PCC chief Amarinder S Raja Warring and LoP Partap Bajwa organized a ‘Save the Constitution’ program in Sultanpur Lodhi in support of former MLA Navtej Cheema, which was strongly opposed by independent MLA Rana Gurjit Singh, who organized a parallel event. Following a clear split within the party in Sultanpur Lodhi, the party had to hold another Constitution Protection rally in Jalandhar, where all the leaders, including Warring, Channi, and Pargat Singh, appeared together on the same stage. This year saw a sharp decline in the Shiromani Akali Dal’s graph. The party appointed Iqbal Singh Dhindsa as SAD (Urban) president and Bachittar Singh Kohar as SAD (Rural) president, but this did not yield any significant gains for the party as prominent leaders like Pawan Tinu, Dr. Sukhwinder Sukhi, Jagir Kaur, and Gurpratap S Wadala left the party.
After the BSP removed its state president Jasvir S Garhi, he joined the AAP and managed to secure the post of Chairman of the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission in March this year. On January 11 this year, the ruling AAP managed to elect its mayor despite not having a clear majority. BJP, Congress, and some independent councilors quickly switched sides and joined the AAP. Vineet Dheer became the first mayor from the AAP. The AAP claims that its first year of governance in the municipal corporation went smoothly and that it focused on beautification, but the Congress and BJP have been consistently criticizing it. The BJP, which had shown significant gains in the city by improving its performance in Jalandhar in the parliamentary elections, has not seen much change at the local level. Amidst discussions that the party is gaining considerable ground in the rural areas of Doaba, especially in the flood-affected areas, after undertaking major initiatives, it failed to secure a single seat in the recently held block committee and district council elections.
The year 2025 also brought major ups and downs for Bhulath Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira. He was granted bail in January this year after a four-month arrest in a criminal intimidation case, but in March, the ED issued an order to attach his properties in an alleged Prevention of Money Laundering Act case. Since then, he has continued his fight against the governments and bureaucracy. Doaba is represented by a total of five MPs, including four from the AAP, so their performance has also been closely watched. Congress MP Charanjit S Channi from Jalandhar only visits the city as a guest, as his focus is clearly on Chamkaur Sahib. Cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh also visits Jalandhar occasionally. He even participated in the inauguration of a sports hub project in his hometown this year and had a good time. He was also seen in the flood-affected areas of Punjab. But the biggest contribution during the Punjab floods came from MP Balbir S Seechewal, whose teams not only provided langar (community meals) and boat services but also rehabilitated hundreds of farmers in the area. They helped fill the breaches in the embankments, remove tons of sand, and level the fields after the floods in the Mand area of Sultanpur Lodhi.
