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 | This article contains historical images which have been upscaled using AI. (February 2025) |
Partap Singh Bajwa is an Indian politician who served as a member of the Lok Sabha representing Gurdaspur in Punjab from 2009 to 2014.[1] Currently, he is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Punjab and the leader of the opposition in the Punjab assembly.[1]
He is the son of Satnam Singh Bajwa who was a three-time Member of Legislative Assembly Punjab and Minister in the government of Punjab. He completed his schooling at Punjab Public School, Nabha. He started his career in politics as a student leader in 1976 became President of Youth Congress in 1982 and rose to the President of State Congress. He has served as a minister under chief ministers Beant Singh, Rajinder Kaur Bhathal, and Amarinder Singh. Partap Singh Bajwa is Rajya Sabha member since 10 April 2016.
He started his career in politics as a student leader in 1976 from DAV College, Chandigarh, became President of District Youth Congress Gurdaspur then Vice President of Youth Congress in 1980, President of Youth Congress in 1982, and rose to the President of State Congress.
He was elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Kahnuwan Constituency in 1992, 2002, and 2007. He worked in various different departments under the government of Punjab.
He was Minister of State Information and Public Relations government of Punjab from 1994 to 1995, Cabinet Minister P.W.D B&R, I&PR, Government of Punjab from 1995 to 1996, Cabinet Minister Judiciary, Jails, etc. Government of Punjab from 1996 to 1997, Cabinet Minister P.W.D B&R, School Education, Govt of Punjab from 2002 to 2007.
He defeated the actor and four-time sitting MP Vinod Khanna of the Bharatiya Janata Party in general elections and became Member of Parliament in 2009 from Gurdaspur Constituency. His wife is currently the sitting Member of Legislative Assembly Punjab from the Qadian Constituency. He was made the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee in March 2013.
He was elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Qadian Constituency in 2022. He was appointed the Leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly. The Aam Aadmi Party gained a strong 79% majority in the sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly by winning 92 out of 117 seats in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. MP Bhagwant Mann was sworn in as Chief Minister on 16 March 2022.[2]
During the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, he declared Rs. 36,91,19,618 as an overall financial asset and Rs. 1,02,56,481 as financial liability.[3]
More recently, Bajwa claimed that 50 bombs had reached Punjab, 18 of which had exploded, and 32 were yet to explode. This raised alarm and controversy.[4] Following this, an FIR (First Information Report) was filed against him for the statement, accusing him of spreading false information and provoking public panic. He was questioned by the police (for about 6 hours) in Mohali in connection with that FIR.[5][6]
Bajwa, in a public gathering in Jalandhar, took a dig at AAP MLA Labh Singh Ugoke, a Dalit MLA who earlier ran a mobile-repair shop. He said people who used to repair mobile phones are now MLAs. The remark was criticized by AAP leaders as insulting not just to Ugoke but to the Dalit community at large. They said Bajwa’s comment reflected a derogatory attitude toward people from humble, working-class backgrounds.[7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INC | Partap Singh Bajwa[9] | 48,679 | 36.55 |  11.28
| |
| SAD | Guriqbal Singh Mahal | 41,505 | 31.16 | 7.70
| |
| AAP | Jagroop Singh Sekhwan [10] | 34,916 | 26.22 |  15.20
| |
| NOTA | None of the above | 777 | 0.58 | 0.15
| |
| Majority | 7,174 | 5.39 | |||
| Turnout | 133,183 | ||||
| Registered electors | 181,907 | [11] | |||
| INC hold | Swing | ||||
