Amarinder bats for Surinder Singla’s candidature from Bathinda Urban assembly
Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said he will be recommending former state finance minister Surinder Singla’s name for candidature from the Bathinda Urban assembly segment.
Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said he will be recommending former state finance minister Surinder Singla’s name for candidature from the Bathinda Urban assembly segment.
Before leaving for the third day of his ‘Kisan Bus Yatra’ here, Amarinder reiterated that the party has decided to field “Hindu faces” in assembly segments where the community comprises a large percentage, such as urban seats of southern Punjab districts of Bathinda, Mansa and Sangrur.
Amarinder said according to the feedback taken by the party, Singla’s name is on the top of the list in Bathinda Urban. “I will recommend his (Singla’s) name as the candidate for the 2017 polls,” he said.
Questioned on concerns about Singla’s health, the former chief minister said he has met Singla a few days ago and he is in good health. “Singla had slipped on snow while visiting his son in Canada and suffered internal bleeding, but has now been cured,” said Amarinder.
Singla had remained the state legislator from Bathinda Urban between 2002 and 2007 and served as the finance minister under Capt. He is credited with carrying major development works in the city.
Political equations set to change in district
Amarinder’s open support to Singla’s candidature, however, has come as a shocker to many ticket aspirants. The announcement is also set to change political equations of Congress leaders in other assembly segments in the district, such as Talwandi Sabo and Maur.
Former MLA Harminder Singh Jassi has been staking his claim on the party ticket from this assembly segment. Jassi, who had lost the 2012 assembly polls from Bathinda Urban, had even announced that he has applied for the party ticket only from this seat.
Talking to HT, Jassi, who has also remained Talwandi Sabo MLA, said ticket allotment is a long process and he can’t comment on it right now. He, however, admitted that Capt being the president of the Punjab Congress might be in the know-how of developments, of which he is not aware.
The name of Manpreet Singh Badal was also doing the rounds as a probable candidate from this assembly segment. He couldn’t be contacted despite repeated attempts.