Punjab Speaker Kultar Sandhwan’s mother-in-law Harbans Kaur has entered the Municipal Corporation (MC) election fray as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Bathinda’s Ward No. 5.A resident of Hazura Kapura Colony on Barnala Road, the 70-year-old homemaker is the wife of Bhola Singh Maluka, a former president of the Thermal Plant Technical Employees’ Union who claims to have headed the union for nearly 25 years.Their elder daughter Gurpreet Kaur is married to Sandhwan, who is expected to campaign for his mother-in-law. Bhola Singh said the family had earlier been associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and supported former minister Sikander Singh Maluka, but shifted to AAP after Sandhwan joined the party.He said they would seek votes on the basis of development works, health and education facilities in the ward.He said current AAP councillor Rajinder Singh Sidhu had fielded his wife as an Independent candidate after being denied the party ticket.CM’s mother gives candidature lettersChief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s mother Harpal Kaur handed over ticket letters to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates for the Malout Municipal Council elections at a hotel. Malout MLA and Cabinet Minister Baljit Kaur was also present there.Harpal Kaur did not make any political statement. Sources said she had come to boost the morale of the AAP candidates.BJP upbeat after Bengal winBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal expressed confidence over the party’s prospects in the civic body poll. Speaking in Gidderbaha, Manpreet said the West Bengal results had boosted the morale of BJP workers in Punjab.”Party workers are highly motivated. If people in West Bengal have voted for the BJP, I believe Punjab voters can also take a similar decision,” he said. He added that issues such as mounting debt and lawlessness in Punjab were creating a demand for political change.Tickets to members of same family Meanwhile, the elections are witnessing an interesting trend, with some family members contesting from adjacent wards from the same party. 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 BJP candidates from Wards 16 and 17, respectively. Banka, a painter, had 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 was 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, in Muktsar, advocate Arsh Batra and his mother Rupinder Kumari Batra are contesting as 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 No. 6, and we have remained connected with people for years. Residents persuaded us to contest from both wards. We are confident of winning,” said Arsh.