Cong leader Manish Tiwari applies for Lok Sabha ticket

Ramkrishan Upadhyay 

Tribune  News  Service

Chandigarh, January 27                              

Two days after Navjot Kaur Sidhu staked her claim for the Lok Sabha ticket from the Chandigarh parliamentary constituency, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Manish Tiwari has also jumped into the fray.

Tiwari along with his supporters on Sunday morning reached the Chandigarh Congress office in Sector 35 and formally gave his application to city Congress president Pradeep Chhabra, expressing his desire to fight the coming General Election.

Though Tiwari refused to comment on Navjot Kaur Sidhu’s application, he said every party worker has the right to apply for the ticket, but the party leadership has to take the final decision on it.

He said he was born and brought up in Chandigarh. “I went to school and college here. My parents worked here. I have an emotional attachment with the city,” he said.

Tewari’s father was a Professor at Panjab University, while his mother Dr. Amrit Kaur Tewari was Professor and Head, Oral Health Sciences Centre, and Dean at the PGI. She also served the city as a nominated councillor. His father was killed by militants on April 3, 1984, in Sector 24.

On the other hand, former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is also a contender from the seat. Bansal had consecutively won in 1999, 2004 and 2009, but lost in 2014. He had also represented Chandigarh from 1991 to 1996. Bansal is expected to file his application soon.