Consensus lacking, Cong list not before Dec 13

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 10

The first list of Congress candidates is set for more delay with no action expected at least till Tuesday. For, consensus has so far been reached only on 70 seats, it is learnt.

Among the seats yet to be decided are the high-profile Bathinda (Urban) from where ex-Akali minister Manpreet Badal is a strong contender. But, PPCCchief Capt Amarinder Singh is pushing for Surinder Singla, arguing the seat is dominated by Hindu voters, and the sitting Akali MLA is a Hindu too.

Similar confusion prevails on Ludhiana (East), which ex-minister Manish Tewari has sought. Some MLAs led by Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Bittu feel Tewari’s claim would disturb local equations with some sitting MLAs not in favour of Tewari’s candidature.

Another turn of events relates to senior leader Laal Singh who wants a ticket for his son from Samana whereas he himself has represented Sanaur several times. The Akali Dal has fielded Lok Sabha MP Prem Singh Chandumajra’s son from Sanaur. Chandumajra and Laal Singh are learnt to be friends, which explains why he wants to opt out of the race and wants a safer seat for his son.

There’s also confusion in Gidderbaha where sitting MLA Amrinder Raja Warring is not too confident of a win. Raja is said to have sent ample feelers to the party to change his seat to Muktsar, where Karan Kaur Brar is the sitting Congress MLA. Sources say Karan Brar’s survey results are not promising, but they add that in principle decision has been taken to avoid seat-swapping for sitting MLAs except in case of reserved segments.