Settled on contesting on around 32 per cent of the total 117 Assembly seats in Punjab in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD (Sanyukt), Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday announced 22 candidates of his new outfit, Punjab Lok Congress, by following social engineering formula and making effort to give representation to all, but lacks “big names”.
Seeking re-election from his family bastion, Patiala Urban, once again, Capt Amarinder also announced the candidature of three former legislators — former Akali MLA and wife of late DGP Izhar Alam Khan Farzana Alam from Malerkotla; former MLA and Forests Corporation’s former chairman Harjinder Singh Thekedar from Amritsar (South); and a former SAD MLA from Mansa and Ludhiana’s former senior Deputy Mayor Prem Mittal from Atamnagar.
Besides, former Indian hockey team captain Ajitpal Singh will be contesting as PLC candidate from Nakodar.
The Sanaur seat will be contested by business and youth social activist Bikramjit Inder Singh Chahal — son of Capt Amarinder Singh’s close aide and advisor Bharat Inder Singh Chahal, while he has fielded a young leader from a political family, Damanjeet Singh Mohi, against his once close aide Capt Sandeep Sandhu from Dakha. Mohi is an active Youth Congress functionary who has formerly been Sarpanch, Zila Parishad member, and also Mullanpur Market Committee’s chairman.
With the former Congress leader wielding influence in the Malwa belt, 26 of PLC’s total seats are from the region, while seven seats came to its share are in the Majha region, and four from Doaba region.
“The PLC has currently got 37 of the 117 seats in the state as part of its alliance with the BJP and SAD (Sanyukt), with discussions still in progress on possibly another five seats for the party,” said Capt Amarinder, while addressing the media.
Implying the social engineering formula, four of the 22 candidates belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC) community, three to the Other Backward Class (OBC) community, while five are Hindu faces (three Pandits and two Aggarwals).
Capt Amarinder, releasing the first list of nominees, said that all these candidates have strong political credentials and are well-known faces in their respective constituencies. “There is one woman on this first list,” he said, adding that there are eight other Jat Sikhs in the well balanced first list.
In addition to Capt Amarinder and Farzana Alam, another key candidate from the Malwa region is the Patiala Municipal Corporation’s sitting mayor Sanjeev Sharma, who was president of District Youth Congress for a number of years. Sharma will contest the Patiala (Rural) seat against Cabinet Minister Brahm Mohindra’s son and youth Congress leader Mohit Mohindra.
Kamaldeep Saini, former Punjab Congress secretary, has been finalised as the candidate from Kharar; while Jagmohan Sharma, who was Ludhiana District Congress Committee president and is currently the PLC district president, has been selected for Ludhiana (East).
The party ticket from Ludhiana (South) has been allotted to Satinderpal Singh Tajpuri, who is the son of a former Cooperation Minister in the previous Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government.
A popular Dalit face and a retired PPS officer, Mukhtiar Singh, has been nominated for the party ticket from the reserved constituency of Nihalsingh Wala; while Dharamkot seat ticket has gone to an advocate, agriculturist, and businessman Ravinder Singh Garewal.
A medical practitioner Amarjeet Sharma, who has been working at the grassroots for over a decade, has been pitched from Rampura Phul. An established businessman, transporter, and agriculturist, Raj Nambardar is a prominent Hindu face from Bathinda and will contest the polls from Bathinda (Urban), from where state’s Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal is sitting MLA. Incidentally, his father Dev Raj Nambardar also contested from Bathinda in 1985.
Bathinda (Rural), a reserved constituency, will be contested by Sawera Singh — son of late MLA Makhan Singh and currently Punjab Water Resources Management Corporation’s vice chairman.
From another reserved seat, Budhalada, a former Army man Subedar Bhola Singh Hasanpur will contest as alliance’s candidate. Hasanpur has served the Indian Army for 28 years and was unanimously elected Sarpanch of his village.
Three-time Municipal Councillor and former member Improvement Trust, Barnala, as well as ex-President SC Wing of SAD, Dharam Singh Fauji has been selected as the PLC candidate from Bhadaur (SC); while Surinder Singh Kherki, former Member of Panchayat Samiti, will be party candidate from Samana.
In Majha region, Tejinder Singh Randhawa is the candidate for Fatehgarh Churrian, currently represented by cabinet minister and Congress stalwart Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa. The first list of candidates from Doaba region includes Amandeep Singh, former Punjab Congress spokesperson, for Bholath.
SONIA KEPT QUITE WHEN TOLD ABOUT THOSE INVOLVED IN ILLEGAL MINING
Stepped down after bitter tussle with Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu and citing “repeated humiliation”, Capt Amarinder on Sunday asserted that he had informed the Congress president Sonia Gandhi about those involved in illegal mining, but “she went quite when I asked her whether we should take action”.
“NEVER SAID WOULD CONTEST AGAINST SIDHU”
Clarifying that he had never said that he would contest against his bête noire Sidhu, Capt Amarinder said that he would contest from Patiala only and “won't leave my family's home of 300 years”.
“I had never said that I would contest against Sidhu. But said that I would not let him win,” said Capt Amarinder.
WILL SEEK VOTES ON MY OWN GOVT AND MODI GOVT’S ACHIEVEMENTS:
Capt Amarinder said that he would seek votes on his own government's achievements and Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's accomplishments at the Centre. Capt Amarinder had to step down as the Chief Minister after four and half year tenure.
CAPT’s SOCIAL ENGINEERING
Jat Sikh - 9, SC-4, OBC- 3, Hindu (Pandit)- 3, Hindu (Aggarwal)- 2, Muslim/Lady- 1 Total:22.
