Punjabi Congress leaders want more share in party ticket

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 20

With Haryana to go for parliamentary as well as Assembly polls next year, leaders from Punjabi community in the Congress have started building pressure on the party leadership for better share in tickets and party positions.

The community leaders are trying to impress upon the Congress leadership that with a Punjabi community leader Manohar Lal Khattar at the helm as Chief Minister for the first time since the state’s inception, it will be difficult for the party to woo the community unless due representation is given to their leaders.

Over 30 Congress leaders of the community from Haryana met in Haridwar on Sunday under the aegis of Rashtriya Punjabi Mahasabha to discuss these issues. Ashok Mehta, a former State Information Commissioner, Haryana, presided over the meeting.

The meeting resolved to meet AICC president Rahul Gandhi soon with a request of distribution of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha tickets in accordance with population, adjustment of Punjabis in district and block committees of the party and nomination of Punjabis to the CWC.

The meeting also decided to invite Rahul to national convention of the Rashtriya Punjabi Mahasabha to be convened at Panchkula later this year.

During Bhajan Lal’s tenure as CM from 1980 to 1986 and then again from 1991 to 1996, a number of Punjabi community leaders became ministers and MLAs.

“The population share of the Punjabi-speaking population in the state is nearly 30 per cent. But we never get that share in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha tickets. With Khattar, also a Punjabi, made CM by the BJP and one Lok Sabha MP (Ashwani Chopra, Karnal) and some MLAs also from the community in the BJP, the natural choice for the community this time is the BJP. Unless our party gives due representation to the community, it will be difficult to woo Punjabi voters for the Congress this time,” said a senior Punjabi leader.