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Punjab elections: Capt Amarinder Singh releases Punjab Lok Congress’s first list of candidates, to contest from Patiala
Former chief minister and Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) supremo Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday released the first list of candidates for 22 constituencies for the February 20 assembly polls in the state, and announced that he will again contest from his home constituency of Patiala Urban.
Former chief minister and Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) supremo Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday released the first list of candidates for 22 constituencies for the February 20 assembly polls in the state, and announced that he will again contest from his home constituency of Patiala Urban.
The party, which also named former Indian hockey team captain Ajit Pal Singh as its nominee from Nakodar, has been allotted 37 out of the 117 seats as part of its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt). The line-up announced by the former chief minister includes several former leaders from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress, the party Amarinder quit after being removed from the chief minister’s post four months ago.
However, contrary to Amarinder’s claim that several sitting MLAs and cabinet ministers will join his party, there was no sitting Congress legislator or minister on the list. Three sitting MLAs, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, Fatehjung Bajwa and Harjot Kamal, who quit the Congress in recent weeks, have all gone into his alliance partner BJP’s fold.
“We have given a good set of candidates with clear focus on winnability while ensuring due representation across regions and various sections of the society,” Amarinder said while releasing the first list of candidates at a virtual press conference. He said discussions were continuing with the BJP on five more seats for the party. As per the present arrangement, the BJP will contest 67 and the SAD (Sanyukt) 13 seats. Of the PLC’s allocation of 37 seats, 26 are in the Malwa region, 7 in Majha region, and four in Doaba region.
A five-time MLA, Amarinder has won from Patiala Urban three times in the past. Besides being a part of his stronghold of Patiala district, the assembly segment also falls in his MP wife Preneet Kaur’s Patiala Lok Sabha constituency.
“Will contest from Patiala, won’t leave my family’s home of 300 years. Will seek votes on my government’s achievements and Modi govt’s accomplishments at the Centre,” Amarinder’s media adviser Raveen Thukral tweeted, quoting him.
In this seat, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded turncoat and former Patiala mayor Ajitpal Singh Kohli, who jumped ship from the SAD two weeks, to take on the former chief minister, while Harpal Juneja is the Akali nominee. The Congress is yet to name its candidate.
In Malwa, the PLC has fielded Farzana Alam Khan, a former SAD legislator and wife of late DGP Izhar Alam Khan, from Malerkotla. She is the only woman among the first batch of candidates. The list includes eight Jat Sikhs, four from the Scheduled Caste community, three from the OBC community, and five Hindus.
One of the candidates from the Malwa region is the current Patiala mayor Sanjeev Sharma, who was the president of District Youth Congress for several of years. He will contest the Patiala Rural seat.
Kamaldeep Saini, former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee secretary, has been fielded from Kharar, while Jagmohan Sharma, former president of the Ludhiana district Congress committee, will contest from Ludhiana East. The Ludhiana South seat will be contested by Satinderpal Singh Tajpuri, the son of the former cooperation minister in the previous SAD government.
Prem Mittal, a former SAD MLA from Mansa and former senior deputy Mayor of Ludhiana, has been fielded from Atamnagar, while Damanjeet Singh Mohi, an active Youth Congress functionary and former chairman of Market Committee Mullanpur, has been named as the PLC candidate from Dakha. Retired bureaucrat Mukhtiar Singh has been fielded from Nihalsinghwala. Other candidates include Ravinder Singh Garewal from Dharamkot, Dr Amarjeet Sharma from Rampura Phul, Raj Nambardar from Bathinda, Sawera Singh from Bathinda Rural, Subedar Bhola Singh Hasanpur from Budhlada and Dharam Singh Fauji from Bhadaur.
Bikramjit Inder Singh Chahal, son of Capt Amarinder Singh’s close associate and adviser BIS Chahal, has been named from Sanaur, and former Punjab Congress secretary Surinder Singh Kherki will contest from Samana.
In the Majha region, the party has fielded Tejinder Singh Randhawa, former vice president of DCC Gurdaspur, from Fatehgarh Churrian, while former MLA Harjinder Singh Thekedar will fight from the Amritsar South seat. Amandeep Singh, former Punjab Congress spokesperson, has been fielded from Bholath and Satvir Singh Palli Jhikki from Nawanshahr in Doaba.
AAP MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan said Amarinder has lost his political relevance. “There can be no bigger proof than the PLC’s first list of candidates which is nothing more than a document. He is just banking on the BJP for survival.”
