7 new faces on Congress' first list for Punjab polls
PPCC president Captain Amarinder said the party has taken into consideration the winnability factor in choosing the list.
Chandigarh: Retaining as many as 31 sitting MLAs and choosing seven new faces, the Congress on Thursday announced its first list of 61 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Punjab.
Five youth candidates, six women, eight former MLAs and one former MP make up the rest of the list.
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Captain Amarinder said the party has taken into consideration the winnability factor in choosing the list. He said as there are several aspirants in the fray, those who would not make it to the final list will be accommodated once the party forms the next government. He appealed the Congress workers to come together to campaign for the victory in Punjab.
Mr Singh will show his might from Patiala, while Congress vice-president Sunil Jakhar will contest from Abohar, from where he is the sitting MLA.
Other prominent leaders in the fray are Manpreet Singh Badal from Bathinda Urban and Charanjit Singh Channi from Chamkaur Sahib (SC), from where he is the sitting MLA. Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi will fight from Guru Har Sahai. Former minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa has been nominated for the Fategarh Churian seat.
The ticket for the high-profile Majithia constituency has gone to Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli Majthia, while Rana Gurjit Singh will contest from Kapurthala.
Another prominent name in the first list is that of former Moga DC, Kuldeep Singh Vaid (IAS), who has got the ticket from Gill reserved constituency. From the Raikot reserved seat, the nominee is Amar Singh, vice-president of the PPCC and brother of sitting MLA Gurcharan Singh Boparai. For Barnala, the party’s choice is Kewal Singh Dhillon.
Of the six women, four have been fielded from the reserved constituencies of Ferozepur Rural (Satkar Kaur), Mehalkalan (Harchand Kaur, sitting MLA), Budhlada (Ranjit Kaur Batti) and Dina Nagar (sitting MLA Aruna Chaudhary). The other two women in the fray are Razia Sultan (Malerkotla) and Rajinder K. Bhattal, sitting MLA and former CM, from Lehra.
At 25 years, Angad Saini, the son of sitting MLA Guriqbal Kaur Babli, is the youngest nominee in the first list. The party has fielded Kulbir Singh Zira, the son of Congress Kisan cell chairman Inderjit Singh Zira, from Zira.