E-Paper
AAP may pick Khangura; Ashu, Sandhu in race for Cong ticket
With four-cornered contest in the offing in Ludhiana, political parties are finding it difficult to draw a balance between various castes and communities while choosing the candidates for the elections.
With four-cornered contest in the offing in Ludhiana, political parties are finding it difficult to draw a balance between various castes and communities while choosing the candidates for the elections.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having roped in sitting Congress MP Ravneet Bittu, the AAP wants to field an equally strong candidate from here whose appeal transcends caste and community affiliations. Bittu has represented Ludhiana consecutively for two terms as the Congress MP. Earlier, he was an MP from Anandpur Sahib. Ludhiana has continuously elected Congress MP since 2009.
The Aam Aadmi Party is zeroing in on former legislator Jassi Khangura from this urban-dominated constituency. Given the diversity of the electorate, it is learnt that Khangura scores over others in terms of credibility and acceptability among other seekers of the party ticket in a survey conducted by the party. Ahbaab Singh Grewal and a social activist Anmol Kwatra are also in the fray.
Khangura, who represented erstwhile Qila Raipur constituency between 2007 and 2012, was the only Congress MLA to get elected from that predominantly rural constituency. It was Khangura who broke the Congress jinx there. The constituency was later disbanded in the delimitation process and most of it came under Dakha and some parts under Gill. Khangura later resigned from the Congress and joined the AAP ahead of the 2022 assembly elections. Ever since he has been very active politically and socially.
Former cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Capt Sandeep Sandhu are in the race for Congress ticket after Bittu has switched to BJP. The party also considered the name of Member of Parliament from Sri Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari, who had won Ludhiana seat in 2009 for Congress.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal had already announced to field Vipan Sood Kaka from Ludhiana seat.
Two times MLA and chief of Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) Simarjeet Singh Bains is yet to announce if he is going to try his luck again. If Bains announces, the Ludhiana seat will witness a five cornered contest, as Bains was in second place in 2019 elections.
