As political parties keen in the Bukit Gelugor by-election work to pick their candidates as the May 12 nomination date looms, a PKR member is also mulling the possibility entering the battle for the seat.

A PKR leader in Bukit Gelugor, Dr Gurdial Singh Sandhu, who is vying for the PKR Bukit Gelugor division chief post in the May 4 party elections, suggested last night that DAP hands the seat to PKR if it is not able decide on a candidate.

Gurdial ( right ) said that he was not suggesting that he be the candidate for the by-election that is to be held on May 25

“I may not be the candidate. I am not saying I want to contest, it is for the party to decide,” he said, “but if I were offered the seat, I will accept.”

Gurdial added: "I will make sure I continue with the legacy of the late Karpal Singh, the Tiger of Jelutong, in Bukit Gelugor

"Some people say I am the Lion of Bukit Gelugor, but I am not. I am an ordinary person, but as a doctor and a long-standing member of PKR, there is much that I can contribute to the people  here."

However, Gurdial, a homoeopathy specialist, denied that he was offering his services and contributions because the DAP had failed to improve the lives of the Bukit Gelugor community.

The seat fell vacant on April 17, when Karpal Singh, a four-term parliamentarian, died in a car crash along the North-South Expressway, near Gua Tempurong in Perak.

Karpal, 74, held the Bukit Gelugor seat since 2004, when it was created, and retained it with a massive 41,778-vote majority against MCA's Teh Beng Yeam in thr 13th general election in May last year.

'Nepotism if DAP picks Ramkarpal'

Gurdial said some quarters see the possibility of DAP giving the seat to Karpal’s third son Ramkarpal Singh as “a family thing”, with several quarters pointing out that such a move would only amount to the practice of nepotism by the DAP.

Ramkarpal, 38, a lawyer ( left ), is said to be one of the five proposed by the Penang DAP division to the party's central executive committee, which has appointed a three-member panel comprising secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, acting chairperson Tan Kok Wai and Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang to decide on the candidate.

“Whatever happens is a DAP matter. We will support whoever they select and we will help them campaign and ensure their win," Gurdial told a press conference.

"However, if the DAP finds difficulties in selecting a candidate, please give us (PKR) the seat as we have many qualified candidates in Bukit Gelugor," he added.

Gurdial said any discussion to hand over a constituency to another ally in Pakatan would be done at the highest level, at the coalition's leadership level.

With 2,043 PKR members in Bukit Gelugor, who are mostly his patients and grassroots supporters, the Pakatan Bukit Gelugor candidate - whether from DAP or PKR - would not be short of support, he added.

"Bukit Gelugor has a long history, a densely populated area with voters who are fully aware of what the Pakatan state government has done for Penangites.”

Gurdial also expressed dismay at the various other parties - MCA, Parti Cinta Malaysia and the  newly-formed BN-friendly coalition of 44 Chinese NGOs called Penang Front Party (PFP) - which have declared their intentions to contest the seat.

He said the PFP comprises “disgruntled MCA members who do not know what to do”, since the MCA is “dead and gone” since the 2008 general election, when Pakatan captured Penang.

In the 2013 general election, the BN component parties, with the exception of Umno which won 10 state seats, were decimated as they failed to win any state constituency.

“The Pakatan coalition is the best as the rest are dead. Gerakan is six feet underground and may never walk again, while the MIC members are walking around the graves, waiting to fall in,” he said of the BN rivals.

"These parties fared poorly, for the current trend is multiracial politics, not the race-based games of the BN."