The ongoing municipal elections are witnessing an interesting trend, with some family members contesting from adjoining wards on tickets from the same political parties. For instance, a husband-wife duo in Gidderbaha and a mother-son duo in Muktsar have filed their nomination papers from different wards.In Gidderbaha, husband-wife duo Om Parkash Banka and Lila Devi are contesting as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates from Wards 16 and 17, respectively.Banka, a painter by profession, has earlier unsuccessfully contested the Vidhan Sabha elections from Gidderbaha four times as an Independent candidate. He has also contested the Lok Sabha elections from Faridkot twice. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he polled 1,950 votes.“The party has given tickets to both of us, and we are actively campaigning on the ground. We belong to the Dhanak community, which hardly gets political representation in the state. Manpreet Singh Badal is my political mentor, and I joined the BJP because of him,” said Banka.Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said the fresh delimitation of municipal wards had made Wards 16 and 17 adjoining, and expressed confidence in the couple’s victory.Meanwhile, in Muktsar, advocate Arsh Batra and his mother, Rupinder Kumari Batra, are contesting as Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidates from Wards 6 and 7, respectively.Arsh is currently the national spokesperson of the Students’ Organisation of India (SOI), while his mother is a two-time councillor. She is also recovering from cancer.“Our residence falls in Ward 6, and we have remained connected with people for years. Residents themselves persuaded us to contest from both wards. We are confident of winning,” said Arsh.