Punjabi leaders eye bigger share in ticket for Haryana Assembly poll

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, July 29

As the Haryana Assembly elections approach, Punjabi leaders affiliated with the Congress have begun organising themselves to ensure adequate representation to the community in the party and in terms of ticket.

To this end, community leaders will hold a Punjabi ‘sammelan’ (conclave) in Karnal in August.

Punjabi sammelan

• Punjabis comprise 32% of Haryana’s population; first Punjabi ‘sammelan’ to be held in August in Karnal
• Ashok Mehta, Rashtriya Punjabi Mahasabha (RPM) national president, will serve as the sammelan’s state coordinator and senior Congress leader Ashok Arora will be the event chairperson
• Ticket aspirants asked to apply for the ticket and send a copy of their application to the Rashtriya Punjabi Mahasabha

Ashok Mehta, Rashtriya Punjabi Mahasabha (RPM) national president, will serve as the sammelan’s state coordinator while senior Congress leader Ashok Arora will be the event chairperson.

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Congress state president Udai Bhan will also attend the event. Even last year, a delegation of community leaders led by Mehta had met the then-in-charge of the Haryana Congress, Shaktisinh Gohil, to express their concerns and seek representation in the party.

United front

In the General Election, the Congress gave two tickets to the Punjabi community. In the Assembly elections, we are hopeful the party will provide us adequate representation. The Karnal ‘sammelan’ aims to bring the community together in support of the Congress. — Ashok Mehta, national president of Rashtriya Punjabi Mahasabha (RPM)

The leaders say the community comprises 32 per cent of Haryana’s population and has been a major vote-bank for the Congress. But “inadequate” representation in recent years has fuelled resentment and members of the community had begun leaning towards the BJP, they maintained.

Ashok Arora, eyeing the ticket from Thanesar, said, “The Congress has always respected the Punjabi community during its regime. The community too is again looking towards the party for representation. The community leaders will gather in Karnal for a ‘sammelan’ to express their solidarity with the party’s leadership under Bhupinder Singh Hooda and to demand proportionate representation in the party.”

Mehta, a former state Information Commissioner, said, “In the General Election, the party gave two ticket to the community. We are hopeful that in the Assembly elections, the party will provide us adequate representation. The sammelan aims to bring the community together in support of the Congress.”

He said aspirants had been told to apply for the ticket and send a copy of their application to the RPM so that the candidature of promising leaders could be supported. “Through this, we will assure the party of the community’s support in the elections. We will begin holding meetings to this end on August 1,” he said.