Punjab Congress screening panel meets tomorrow

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, March 8

The AICC-appointed screening committee for Punjab is zeroing in on two or three candidates for each of the 13 parliamentary segment, before the central election committee meeting in the coming days.

The screening committee, headed by party leader Bhakta Charan Dass, will hold a meeting in Delhi on March 10. Punjab affairs in-charge Devendra Yadav, PPCC chief Amrinder Raja Warring and CLP leader Partap Singh Bajwa will also attend the meeting. A senior party functionary said the screening committee would be forwarding the names to the central election committee (CEC), expected to meet in the coming days.

With reports of the BJP-SAD alliance in the works, party leaders are anxiously watching the development as it will have a direct bearing on the outcome of the election results. After announcing that the Congress would go solo, the party has to rework its strategy to counter the fresh challenge.

The Congress considers Doaba and Majha as its stronghold areas. The party survey is already underway to access the ground situation and winnability of the candidates. Sources in the party said two senior leaders are hoping to field their wives in the parliamentary elections, one from Majha and another from Malwa.

Similarly, the party could field former CM Charanjit Singh Channi from the reserved Jalandhar or Hoshiarpur seat. Since AAP has a sitting MP Sushil Rinku from Jalandhar, the party might ask Channi to contest from Hoshairpur. For the Faridkot reserved seat, former MLAs Sukhwinder Danny or Kuldeep Vaid may be the candidates.

With the BJP-SAD alliance in mind, the party is contemplating to field a Hindu face from the Ludhiana seat. The party leadership has already expressed reservation against re-nominating some of the MPs in Majha and Malwa, as a result, there could be seat-swapping.

Similarly, there is likelihood that Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu might be fielded from the Anandpur Sahib seat. MLAs Rana Gurjeet and Pargat Singh are also in the race.