Punjab polls: Sonia, Rahul, Manmohan among 30 Cong’s star campaigners

The list of top campaigners, which was released by All India Congress Committee general secretary KC Venugopal on Friday, also include Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and the state campaign committee chairman Sunil Jakhar. However, none of the party’s eight Lok Sabha members from Punjab, except Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, is on the list

Chandigarh : Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are among the party’s 30 star campaigners for the February 20 elections in Punjab.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are among the party’s 30 star campaigners for the February 20 elections in Punjab.

The list of top campaigners, which was released by All India Congress Committee general secretary KC Venugopal on Friday, also include Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and the state campaign committee chairman Sunil Jakhar. However, none of the party’s eight Lok Sabha members from Punjab, except Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, is on the list.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattishgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, Congress general secretaries Randeep Singh Surjewala and Ajay Maken, Punjab affairs incharge Harish Chaudhary, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja will also campaign in the state.

Sachin Pilot, Anand Sharma, Rajeev Shukla, Deepender Singh Hooda, Ranjeet Ranjan, Netta D’Souza BV Srinivas, Amrita Dhawan, Imran Pratapgarhi and Tajender Singh Bittoo are the other star campaigners. Among the state leaders on the list are Rajya Sabha members Ambika Soni and Partap Singh Bajwa, cabinet minister Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and sitting MLA Raminder Singh Awla. When Harish Chaudhary, who held a press conference in Chandigarh, was asked about the missing names of party MPs from the list, he said the Election Commission had capped the number of star campaigners at 30 each for all parties but they (MPs) would campaign for the party candidates.

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Tewari’s exclusion raises brows

Eyebrows have been raised in the Congress over the non-inclusion of Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari in the list of 30 star campaigners released by the party for Punjab on Friday. Though the party has eight Lok Sabha members from the state at present, Tewari is the only one from the Hindu community.

“First Sunil Jakhar and now this? What message does the Congress want to send to 40% population of the state,” a senior party leader said on the two-time Lok Sabha member’s non-inclusion.