Congress busy mollifying disgruntled leaders

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 7

With over a dozen of Congress leaders fuming over the denial of party tickets for the municipal elections, the party has begun the damage control exercise soon after the completion of the nomination process.

Since morning, the area MLAs were busy calling on the disgruntled workers to make them return to the party fold and work for the victory of the party candidates fielded from their wards.

The major revolt was reported from the wards in Jalandhar (West) and Jalandhar (central) constituencies where many Congress workers accused the MLAs Sushil Rinku and Rajinder Beri for “using” them by assuring tickets for the MC polls.

Several Congress workers are going to contest from these areas as Independents, so the division of votes may cost the party dear.

Perturbed over the ticket denial, a Congress worker, Ravinder Pal Singh Chadha, wrote a letter to Capt Amarinder, raising questions over the allocation of tickets to Mohinder Singh Gullu and his wife Kanwaljit Kaur Gullu. Chadha wrote that the party had suspended them in 2012, then why they were given tickets this time? He also raised the issue of two tickets given to Jagdish Raja and his wife.

“Why has the Congress deviated from its thumb rule of one family one ticket and has awarded two tickets to the same family?” asked Chadha.

He also slammed Congress MLA Rajinder Beri for granting ticket to Manmohan Raju from ward number 16 despite him losing the elections continuously for the last three terms.