It is the need of the hour to inculcate the habit in youngsters of treating government property as property of one's own and that as a community asset. Rather than vandalizing every now and then, it should be protected at all costs!
After being denied a Congress Assembly ticket despite holding cabinet rank and key organisational posts, Gejja Ram Valmiki switched to the BJP in early 2024 and was fielded from the reserved Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha seat in a rare four-cornered contest, with BJP and SAD fighting separately for the first time since 1996. Now, in 2026, as parties reassess their strengths after going solo and relying heavily on defectors, his switch still stands out as a textbook case of timing over loyalty. Does Gejja Ram Valmiki’s political journey underline how denied tickets continue to fuel turncoat politics in Punjab, where community arithmetic and last-minute moves often outweigh years of party service ?
कांग्रेस में कैबिनेट रैंक और अहम संगठनात्मक जिम्मेदारियाँ निभाने के बावजूद विधानसभा टिकट न मिलने के बाद, गेजा राम वाल्मीकि ने 2024 की शुरुआत में भाजपा का दामन थाम लिया और उन्हें आरक्षित फतेहगढ़ साहिब लोकसभा सीट से मैदान में उतारा गया। यह 1996 के बाद पहला मौका था जब भाजपा और अकाली दल अलग-अलग चुनाव लड़े। अब 2026 में, जब पार्टियाँ अकेले लड़ने और दलबदलुओं पर निर्भर रहने के अपने फैसलों की समीक्षा कर रही हैं, वाल्मीकि का कदम वफादारी से ज़्यादा सही समय चुनने की राजनीति का साफ उदाहरण बनकर सामने आता है। क्या गेजा राम वाल्मीकि का राजनीतिक सफर यह दिखाता है कि पंजाब में टिकट न मिलने की नाराज़गी आज भी दलबदल की सबसे बड़ी वजह है, जहाँ सामुदायिक गणित और आख़िरी वक्त के फैसले वर्षों की पार्टी सेवा पर भारी पड़ जाते हैं ?
Four years after quitting the Shiromani Akali Dal in 2022, Sarup Chand Singla’s allegations still sting. He had claimed that senior Akali leaders quietly worked against him in Bathinda Urban while backing Manpreet Singh Badal, the cousin of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. Singla didn’t just leave the party over this, he later joined the BJP, turning an internal revolt into a full political break. Now, in 2026, as SAD talks revival and the BJP looks for space in Punjab, that episode remains unresolved. If an Akali MLA believed his own party undercut him to protect a Badal family interest and eventually joined the BJP, does Singla’s journey expose a one-off grievance or a pattern of dynastic politics that continues to push leaders out and haunt SAD’s revival even in 2026 ?
