Cong mulls ticket for Babbi’s kin, Mukerian leaders upset

CHANDIGARH: Even as the Congress is yet to announce the candidates for the byelections to the four Assembly segments of Jalalabad, Phagwara, Dhaka and Mukerian, its leaders in Mukerian today raised a banner revolt over the report that the party was mulling to field a family member of deceased MLA Rajneesh Kumar Babbi.

File photo

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 22

Even as the Congress is yet to announce the candidates for the byelections to the four Assembly segments of Jalalabad, Phagwara, Dhaka and Mukerian, its leaders in Mukerian today raised a banner revolt over the report that the party was mulling to field a family member of deceased MLA Rajneesh Kumar Babbi.

There are reports that leaders want to give the ticket either to Babbi’s son Sabhya Sachi or wife Indu Kaundal.

Uniting on one platform, the leaders, led by former block president Tarsem Minhas, former president of Mukerian nagar council Manglesh Kumar Judge, besides others have sought attention of the Chief Minister and PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar towards the neglect of workers in the constituency.

Manglesh said the party had trailed by 38,000 votes from the Mukerian segment in the recently held Lok Sabha polls from Hoshiarpur seat.

In the Phagwara Assembly segment, where the party had trailed by a margin of 5,146 votes to the BJP in the Hoshiarpur parliamentary seat, reports of move to field a bureaucrat, Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, has resulted in a heartburn among other senior contenders, including Joginder Singh Mann, nephew of former Union minister Buta Singh, and former Banga MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh, who had re-joined the party ahead of the LS poll.

Ahead of candidates’ announcement, Jakhar and AICC general secretary Asha Kumari are scheduled to meet in Chandigarh on September 24. It is learnt that consensus has been achieved on forwarding one name for each constituency to the party leadership.

For Dakha, leaders are learnt to have agreed on the name of Capt Sandeep Sandhu.

Meeting tomorrow

Ahead of announcing the candidates, Jakhar and AICC general secretary Asha Kumari are scheduled to meet in Chandigarh on September 24. It is learnt that consensus has been achieved on forwarding one name for each constituency to the party’s central leadership.

Notification for bypolls today

Chandigarh, September 22

Dr S Karuna Raju, Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, on Sunday said the notification for the Phagwara, Mukerian, Dakha and Jalalabad Assembly byelections would be issued on September 23. He said the nomination process would start immediately after the issuance of the notification.

Dr Raju said the last date for the filling of nomination papers would be September 30 and the papers could be submitted between 11 am and 3 pm. — TNS