Pawan Kumar is a four-time Congress MP, who has also been a federal Minister for Raliways whilst Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister. The former MP from Chandigarh had lost the previous Lok Sabha elections to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, Bollywood actor Kirron Kher.
After a stiff competition for the ticket from senior Congress leader Manish Tewari and Dr. Najvot Kaur Sidhu, wife of Punjab minister Navjot Sidhu, Mr Bansal managed to get the party endorsement.
In an interview with SBS Punjabi, Mr Bansal invited Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, along with other Punjab and Haryana leaders to campaign for him in his electorate. He said, “My long association, ground level work, and rapport with the people resulted in the grant of the ticket by the party leadership.”
He said, "Chandigarh has lost its title of City beautiful in last five years. From the number one position, it has come down to 20 when it comes to cleanliness, besides slipping down to 67 among 100 smart cities.”
Bansal added,” My first priority would be to get rid of the eye sores like heaps of garbage in the city and make it look neater and cleaner as before.”
He said another burning issue which concerns city residents is traffic congestion. Chandigarh caters to people not only from the city but also from neighboring Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal with family and supporters after he was endorsed as the Congress candidate from Chandigarh in 2019 Lok Sabha elections Source: Supplied
Even though the sitting MP Kirron Kher is totally against getting metro, saying it will spoil the character of Chandigarh, Bansal said he will revive the metro project since it is the need of the hour.
Bansal said "It is, in fact Smt. Kirron Kher’s suggestion about getting monorail which will spoil the true character of the city."
Targeting the current MP Mr Bansal said “In last five years the sitting MP has brought down the city to what it was ten years ago and I will work on getting back the sheen of the city by ensuring women safety, more jobs, and better civic facilities. “
Talking about the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, he predicted that "The BJP will win less than 150 seats because their popularity with the masses has plummeted."
He added, "BJP has been indulging in false propaganda of “vikas” but has done nothing reality. They had promised 20 million new jobs every year, but instead, we have worst youth unemployment rate in the country in the last 45 years."
He added, that the current government "is trying to disturb communal harmony and brotherhood."
