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Harminder Jassi’s loyalists mount pressure for Congress Bathinda ticket
With the race for Congress ticket from Bathinda (urban) assembly segment heating up, a section of city Congress leaders on Wednesday held a meeting to demand ticket for former member of legislative assembly (MLA) Harminder Singh Jassi.
With the race for Congress ticket from Bathinda (urban) assembly segment heating up, a section of city Congress leaders on Wednesday held a meeting to demand ticket for former member of legislative assembly (MLA) Harminder Singh Jassi.
The meeting was also attended by president of Youth Congress of Bathinda (urban) Baljit Singh.
At the end of the meeting, a signed statement of local Congress leaders appealed the party leadership to field Jassi from the said assembly segment.
The leaders said if the party decides not to allot ticket to Jassi, they will be forced to resign.
The leaders said that it was only because of the efforts Jassi and his supporters put in, that in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, despite the fact that Shiromani Akali Dal won from Bathinda, its candidate had to trail by over 29, 000 votes in Bathinda (urban) assembly segment, which is part of the parliamentary constituency.
Jassi along with senior Congress leader Manpreet Singh Badal and former finance minister Surinder Singla are all eying for party ticket from this assembly segment.
In 2007, Jassi defeated SAD’s Sarup Chand Singla by 14,745 and won Bathinda (urban) but lost to him in 2012 assembly polls by a margin of 6,645 votes.
Last week Jassi organised a meeting of party workers in which president of Bathinda (urban) Congress unit Mohan Lal Jhumba and five of the nine party councilors in the municipal corporation also participated.
On the other hand, Manpreet Badal too has expressed willingness to contest assembly poll from this seat. Though, he has said that he will act as per the wishes of the party high command.
Besides this, Surinder Singla has also stepped his activities in the city to claim the ticket.
He is banking on Punjab Congress president Captain
Amarinder Singh, who during his ‘Kisan Bus Yatra’ last month said he will recommend Singla’s name as party candidate from this seat.
Surinder Singla was the member of legislative assembly from Bathinda (urban) from 2002–2007 and served as finance minister in Amarinder Singh’s cabinet.
