Former SP Rajbalwinder Singh Marar, elder son of late former Muktsar MLA and SGPC member Sukhdarshan Singh Marar, joined the Congress in Chandigarh on Monday, further intensifying the race for the party ticket from the Muktsar Assembly constituency ahead of the 2027 election.Notably, Muktsar is the hometown of former Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, whose wife Amrita Warring recently indicated her willingness to contest from here. Besides, former MLA Karan Kaur Brar (daughter-in-law of former Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar), Warring’s maternal uncle Harcharan Singh Sotha and several Youth Congress leaders are also aspirants for the Congress ticket.Rajbalwinder had announced his political ambitions in 2021 while serving as Commandant of the 13th Battalion in Chandigarh. After his superannuation in 2023, he became politically active in Muktsar. He is considered close to former CM Charanjit Singh Channi.Sukhdarshan Singh Marar had defeated former chief minister Harcharan Singh Brar as an Independent candidate in the 2002 Assembly election. He later contested on a SAD ticket in 2007 and as an Independent in 2017 before joining the Congress in 2019. He also served as chairman of National Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks Federation. He died of Covid in March 2021.