A day after the Congress announced the candidature of Ishwarjot Singh Cheema from Ludhiana South, Punjab Medium Industry Development Board (PMIDB) chairperson Amarjeet Tikka, who was vying for a ticket from the constituency, resigned from the party on Monday.
In yet another blow to the Congress, senior leader and Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC) chairperson Krishan Kumar Bawa also announced that he would contest the assembly elections as an Independent from Ludhiana West, which is Cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu’s constituency.
Alleging that Cheema only received the ticket because he was backed by Ashu and that the Congress was selling tickets, Tikka said, “The Congress party has become a one-man show in the city. Ashu has been finishing the party on the ground level. He has been favouring the Bains brothers (LIP president Simarjit Singh Bains and his elder brother Balwinder Bains) by fielding weak candidates in Atam Nagar and Ludhiana South.”
Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Bains are sitting MLAs in the respective constituencies. In his resignation letter to All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi, Tikka, who has been associated with the Congress for 37 years, said that four generations of his family, including his grandfather, father, and his nephew had been an active part of the Congress. However, it was disheartening to see that old party workers were being ignored and sidelined.”
On his future course of action, Tikka said he had not yet taken a decision about joining a political party.
{{/usCountry}}On his future course of action, Tikka said he had not yet taken a decision about joining a political party.
{{/usCountry}}It is pure versus impure Congressmen: Bawa
Though Bawa announced his candidature as an independent candidate from Ludhiana West, he said he will not resign from the party at any cost. “I am not a member. I am a stakeholder in the Congress party. I was shot on both my legs on March 17, 1989. Even during the peak of militancy, we kept the flag of the Congress flying high. It is due to the foot soldiers like us that the party has regained its lost glory in Punjab,” said Bawa, speaking to the press ay his house in Rajguru Nagar.
“This time the fight is between a pure and impure Congressman and I am sure that people will vote for me,” said Bawa. He also accused Punjab election in-charge Harish Chaudhary of unfair allotment of tickets.