‘Star campaigner’ Sonu Sood fails to charm Moga voters, sister Malvika loses by huge margin

Malvika, a well-known social worker, had replaced incumbent Congress MLA Harjot Kamal Singh as the Congress' candidate from Moga, after Singh switched to the BJP.

File photo of Congress candidate Malvika Sood campaigning with her brother, actor Sonu Sood, in Khukhrana village, Moga | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

New Delhi: The magic of Bollywood star Sonu Sood failed to work in Punjab’s Moga constituency, as Thursday afternoon saw his sister Malvika Sood lose to Aam Aadmi Party’s Amandeep Kaur Arora, in the state assembly elections. Malvika lost by more than 20,000 votes.

She had replaced incumbent Congress MLA Harjot Kamal Singh as the Congress’ candidate from Moga. Singh, who had switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) earlier, received 10,606.

Malvika is a well-known social worker in Moga district, and has primarily worked in education and health sectors. She has been running a secondary school as well as a coaching class for the IELTS English language test in the town.

However, her candidature remained in the shadow of the stardom of her brother, with many in the political circles alleging she was a ‘dummy candidate’. Interestingly, Sonu Sood had told ThePrint earlier that he was offered ‘powerful positions’ by the Aam Aadmi Party, but he had turned them down because Moga was a Congress stronghold.

Star campaigner

Sonu Sood was the ‘star’ of Malvika’s campaign and also the one who had encouraged his sister’s plunge into politics. “Malvika politics mein aayi nahi laayi gayi (Malvika didn’t come into politics, she was brought in),” Sonu had told ThePrint while campaigning in January.

While Malvika’s team ensured she was the centre of the campaign, and Sonu was only on the sidelines, the brother-sister duo didn’t shy from leveraging Sonu’s stardom.

For instance, Malvika contested the elections on her maiden name, Malvika Sood, and not as Malvika Sood Sachar, her married name. During campaigning, Sonu in his speeches also reminded Moga’s voters of his charitable work, especially during the Covid-induced lockdowns. 

Malvika was seen campaigning by pointing out that the previous Congress MLA Harjot Singh failed to do his duty. However, Malvika clarified that she believed the failure of delivery of work lay squarely on the shoulders of the candidate and not the party.

“I have associated with the Congress because many families in the village are associated with this party. So I thought I would have more and more people who would be able to help me do my work. It depends on the individual and how much work they’re willing to put in. I will give my 200 per cent,” she had told ThePrint.

(Edited by Amit Upadhyaya)