7 fresh faces on Congress list

Dalvir Singh Goldy

Candidature of 12 party MLAs withheld; Pargat, Navjot await ticket too; First-timers in the fray: Angad Saini youngest at 26

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 15

The Congress today withheld the candidature of 12 sitting MLAs while releasing the first list of 61 candidates for the Assembly elections.There are seven new faces: Angad Saini (Nawanshahr), Gurpreet Singh GP (Bassi Pathana), Kuldeep Singh Vaid (Gill), Amar Singh (Raikot), Khushbaj Singh Jatana (Talwandi Sabo), Kulbir Singh Zira (Zira) and Dalvir Singh Goldy (Dhuri).Vaid, a former Moga Deputy Commissioner, recently took premature retirement. Amar Singh is a former IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre.

 The red flag raised by Rajya Sabha MPs Partap Singh Bajwa, Ambika Soni and Shamsher Singh Dullo against giving the ticket to former Akali/BJP leaders is reflected in the list.

The party top brass has treaded cautiously regarding “outsiders” Inderbir Bolaria, Pargat Singh, Sarwan Singh Phillaur and Navjot Kaur Sidhu. No candidate has been announced for contentious seats such as Jalandhar Cantonment, Amritsar South and Amritsar East. The names of sitting MLAs whose seats are likely to be swapped or those who were rated poorly in surveys have been withheld.

The top names missing from the list are: Lal Singh (Sanaur), Tarlochan Singh (Banga), Jagmohan Kang (Kharar), Sukhjinder Dimpa (Amritsar East), Amrik Singh Dhillon (Samrala), Rakesh Pandey (Ludhiana North), Amrinder Raja Warring (Gidderbaha), Karan Kaur Brar (Muktsar), Joginder Singh (Jaitu), Ajaib Bhatti (Bhucho Mandi) and Mohammed Sadique (Bhadaur).

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other top leaders were flooded with requests for seats as well as warnings that those refused the ticket would rebel against the official candidates.

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Ex-CM Bhattal among six women candidates  

•  Dinanagar- Aruna Chaudhary

•  Qadian- Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa 

•  Batala- Ashwani Sekhri

•  Sri Hargobindpur- Balwinder Singh Laddi

•  Fatehgarh Churian- Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa

•  Dera Baba Nanak- Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa

•  Raja Sansi-  Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria

•  Majitha- Sukhjinder Lalli Majithia

•  Jandiala- Sukhwinder Singh Danny

•  Amritsar West- Raj Kumar Verka

•  Amritsar Central- Om Parkash Soni

•  Attari- Tarsem Singh DC

•  Tarn Taran- Dharamvir Agnihotri

•  Patti- Harminder Singh Gill

•  Khadoor Sahib- Ramanjit Singh Sikki

•  Kapurthala- Rana Gurjit Singh

•  Sultanpur Lodhi- Navtej Singh Cheema

•  Jalandhar Central- Rajinder Beri

•  Mukerian- Rajnish Kumar 

•  Urmar- Sangat Singh Gilzian

•  Hoshiarpur- Sunder Sham Arora

•  Chabbewal- Raj Kumar

•  Nawanshahr- Angad Saini

•  Anandpur Sahib- Rana Kanwarpal Singh

•  Chamkaur Sahib- Charanjit Singh Channi

•  SAS Nagar- Balbir Singh Sidhu

•  Bassi Pathana- Gurpreet Singh GP

•  Fatehgarh Sahib- Kuljit Singh Nagra

•  Amloh- Randeep Singh Nabha

•  Khanna- Gurkirat Singh Kotli

• Ludhiana Central- Surinder Kumar Dawar

• Ludhiana West- Bharat Bhushan Ashu

• Gill- Kuldeep Singh Vaid

• Payal- Lakhvir Singh Lakha

• Raikot- Amar Singh

• Baghapurana- Darshan Singh Brar

• Dharamkot- Kaka Sukhjit Singh Lohgarh

• Zira- Kulbir Singh Zira

• Ferozepur City- Parminder Singh Pinki

• Ferozepur Rural-  Satkar Kaur

• Guru Harsahai- Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi

• Abohar- Sunil Jakhar

• Faridkot- Kushaldeep Dhillon

• Rampura Phul- Gurpreet Singh Kangar

• Bathinda Urban- Manpreet Singh Badal

• Talwandi Sabo- Khushbaj Singh Jatana

• Sardulgarh- Ajit Inder Singh Mofar

• Budhlada- Ranjit Kaur Bhatti

• Lehra- Rajinder Kaur Bhattal

• Dirba- Ajaib Singh Rataul

• Barnala- Kewal Singh Dhillon

• Mehal Kalan- Harchand Kaur

• Malerkotla- Razia Sultana

• Dhuri- Dalvir Singh Goldy

• Sangrur- Vijay Inder Singla

• Nabha- Sadhu Singh Dharamsot

• Patiala Rural- Brahm Mohindra

• Rajpura- Hardial Singh Kamboj

• Ghanaur- Madan Lal Jalalpur

• Patiala Urban- Capt Amarinder Singh 

• Shutrana – Nirmal Singh

Wait & watch

• The names of Indian Youth Congress president and Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Punjab Youth Congresschief Amarpreet Singh Lali, a contender from Garshankar, are not on the list

• Speaking on the phone from Delhi, Warring said,“I will contest from Gidderbaha, Lambi or both. My first preference is Gidderbaha and I don’t want to leave it because I am representing this constituency. However, I will go by my party’s decision.”

• No candidate has been announced from Lambi and Jalalabad, represented by CM Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, respectively

• The youngest candidate on the list is Angad Saini (26), while the oldest is Capt Amarinder Singh (74). The other septuagenarian nominees are Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Brahm Mohindra (both 70). Dalvir Goldy, Khushbaj Jatana, Kulbir Zira and Satkar Kaur are in their 30s.

 

 Cong first list out, sticks to ‘one family, one ticket’ rule

CHANDIGARH: The Congress created history of sorts on Thursday by releasing its first list of candidates before the announcement of polls in Punjab. But it has played it safe by declaring names on just 61 seats out of 117, steering clear of ones where a consensus still eludes the party, including seats where MLAs who have quit the ruling SADBJP are vying for tickets.

One of the big surprises is absence of names of cricketerturned-politician Navjot Singh’s wife, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, and former Indian Hockey team captain Pargat Singh, who were BJP and SAD MLAs from Amritsar (east) and Jalandhar Cantt, respectively. The duo had joined Congress after Sidhu’s front Awaaz-e-Punjab had split following Bains brothers of Ludhiana allying with the AAP. The announcement of names on both the seats has been kept on hold, party sources said. Amarinder is rooting for former MLA and party candidate in 2012 polls, Jagbir Brar, from Jalandhar Cantt. Kaur’s seatwill also be announced along with Pargat’s, they said.

The only new entrant to get a place in the first list is former Punjab finance minister and CM Parkash Singh Badal’s estranged nephew Manpreet Singh Badal who has been fielded from Bathinda (urban) — the bastion of the ruling Badal family. The seat falls in the Bathinda parliamentary constituency of CM’s daughter-in-law and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

In another first, the political dynasties have given way to new rule of ‘one family, one ticket’. Three women MLAs have made way for men in the family owing to the new rule. Amarinder, who has resigned as Amritsar MP, will return to his seat Patiala (urban), won by his wife Preneet Kaur in a bypoll. Rajya Sabha MP Partap Bajwa’s wife Charanjit Bajwa has opted out for brother-inlaw Fateh Bajwa in Qadian and Nawanshahr MLA Guriqbal Kaur for son Angad Saini, 25, the youngest candidate on the list. The first list has six women candidates, including three sitting MLAs.

But the rule has also delayed a final decision on seats where it has to decide between fatherson and grandfather-grandson. Sanaur MLA Lal Singh is willing to give up his claim for Samana seat for his son Rajinder Singh.

74-year-old Samrala MLA Amrik Dhillon is more “winnable” in party surveys than his 26-yearold grandson Karanvir Dhillon.

Other than the five sitting MLAs who have opted out for family, the party has renominated 31 sitting MLAs out of 43 in the first list, including Rajnish Singh Babbi of Mukerian, who had won as a independent after being denied the Congress ticket.

Former MP Vijay Inder Singla, a part of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s team, will contest the state polls for the first time. He had won the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat in his debut election in 2009 but lost it to AAP’s Bhagwant Mann in 2014. Of the six new youth candidates on the list, half are “son-rises”, including former state minister Sardool Singh’s son Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Angad Saini son of MLA Guriqbal Kaur and Kulbir Singh Zira, son of former state minister Inderjit Singh Zira.

Other party stalwarts will contest their traditional seats — former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal from Lehragaga, former Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Sunil Jakhar from Abohar and incumbent CLP leader Charanjit Singh Channi from Chamkaur Sahib.

The seats where the sevenmember screening committee headed by former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot has still to finalise names are the ones where Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh wants to have his say such as Ludhiana (east) seat from where he is keen to field former Ludhiana MP and Union minister Manish Tewari but sitting Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu is opposing the move.

The party has also skipped announcing names of candidates in assembly segments where it is trying to pacify rebels or swap or drop sitting and former MLAs.

The 61 candidates on Cong’s first list

Twist in the tale of nine sitting MLAs not on list

CHANDIGARH: The screening committee of the Congress headed by former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot for Punjab elections is treading cautiously on seats that can trigger bushfires. Adopting the policy of “minimum damage”, a majority of names or seats in the party’s first list of 61 are “non-contentious”.

The list, however, betrays party’s own discomfort at the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal’s rhetoric that it is “accepting its rejects and has no winnable candidates of its own” at a time there are differences within the Congress on fielding “turncoats” from the ruling alliance.

All the six MLAs, who have joined the Congress in last one month, have been kept out of the list, including Navjot Kaur Sidhu, Pargat Singh, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Inderbir Singh Bolaria, Rajwinder Kaur Bagike and Maheshinder Singh.

Those who had joined the Congress from the Akali Dal early this year, also have been kept in the waiting list. These include Deepinder Dhillon, who is eyeing the Dera Bassi seat, and Harry Mann who wants Samana. But the fact that the seats they represent as MLAs or are vying for are yet to be decided shows the Congress will try to pacify rebels to humour the “turncoats”.

While Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has assured Navjot Kaur and Pargat tickets from home seats, the announcement of Pargat’s name from Jalandhar Cantt could cause former MLA and candidate Jagbir Brar to rebel. Mann’s candidature will face revolt by none other than senior MLA Lal Singh, who is eyeing Samana seat for his son Rajinder Singh. The result? Both Samana and Lal Singh’s own seat, Sanaur, have been kept on hold.

Like Lal Singh, there is twist in the tale of the eight other MLAs not on the first list. Of its 43 sitting MLAs, including Rajnish Kumar Babbi, who has remained an independent member of the state assembly from Mukerian after he won as an independent after being denied a Congress ticket, the party has fielded 31.

Kharar seat of MLA Jagmohan Kang is not on the list. Party sources claim Kang is “not looking good in the party surveys but he is defiant”.

And it is not just another seat for Amarinder, who would do all it takes to ensure Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kanwar Sandhu is defeated.

Likewise, in Samrala the party has yet to decide whether it should go for its sitting MLA Amrik Singh Dhillon, who is 74, or his grandson Karanvir Dhillon who too has applied for the seat. The popularity rating of the grandfather is “higher” in the surveys.

In Ludhiana, there is a tussle on the Ludhiana north seat of MLA Rakesh Pandey. Dropping Pandey, a loyalist of Bhattal, will not hurt Amarinder but “harmless” Pandey has many sympathisers among the Ludhiana team of the Congress.

The Gidderbaha seat of MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring is also not on the list. Warring, party insiders said, is interested in the Muktsar seat. Which also partly explains why neither Muktsar seat nor its MLA Karan Brar, is not on the list. The other part is that Amarinder was interested in fielding Bhai Kuku from here.

Jaito MLA Joginder Singh too is not on the list. He fits into the “swap of only reserved seats” formula of Amarinder. Another SC MLA Mohammad Sadique too finds no mention and may be shuffled around in the second list. A big surprise is in MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh also not finding any mention .

The MLA, who has gained popularity as the “shoe-hurler” in the last assembly session represents Banga, a reserved seat. The remaining four sitting MLAs are Preneet Kaur, Guriqbal Kaur, Charanjit Bajwa and Gurcharan Singh Boparai who have opted out for family. Boparai’s brother, Dr Amar Singh, is the Raikot candidate.

EX-MOGA DC GETS TICKET FROM GILL

In the first list, names of candidates for 17 out of Punjab’s 34 reserved seats have been announced. Former Moga DC Kuldeep Singh Vaid has got the ticket from the Gill reserved constituency.

Of the six women on the list, four have been fielded from the reserved constituencies, including sitting MLA Harchand Kaur, Aruna Chaudhary, Ranjit Kaur Batti and Satkar Kaur.

Friends turn foe: Once right-hand man of Bains, Karwal to contest elections against him

LUDHIANA:Once a right-hand man of firebrand leader Simarjit Singh Bains, SAD councillor and a turncoat leader Kamaljeet Singh Karwal is likely to contest elections against Bains, as he is all set to join Congress shortly.

HT PHOTOEx­Akali leader and Bains brothers’ aide Kamaljit Karwal (green turban) meeting the PPCC president Captain Amarinder Singh in Ludhiana on Thursday.

Karwal met state Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh at New Delhi, after which the latter made an announcement that Karwal will soon join the party. Congress is likely to field Karwal from Atam Nagar constituency, which is a stronghold of Bains.

Till recently, Congress was clueless regarding which candidate to field from Atam Nagar as all applicants from the area, including Kulwant Sidhu, KK Bawa and Parvinder Singh Lapran, were not considered a match to Bains. However, Captain had hinted in the past that he will provide Bawa an opportunity.

Being a close associate of Bains brothers, Karwal is considered privy to all their loopholes and thus is the best bet for the Congress party, in this area.

Karwal, who contested 2012 MC polls on SAD symbol, left the party after sometime after the Bains brothers left the party. Thereafter, he joined SAD again in January 2015 in the presence of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Interestingly, in 2009, Karwal and Simarjit had allegedly beaten up, the then tehsildar GS Benipal.

Following this, both were booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (manhandling public servants), 332 (deter public servant from official duty), 394 (causing hurt in committing robbery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and many Sections of the Arms Act. They even remained in jail for some time.

Earlier in 2014, the Supreme Court handed the matter over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the investigation has been pending since then.

Karwal was re-elected as the councillor from ward number 45 in 2012. Sources said that the Congress leaders aspiring to contest from Atam Nagar were lobbying in Delhi on Thursday, trying to persuade Captain Amarinder Singh, not to allot a ticket to Karwal for the constituency.

Kamaljit Karwal said that SAD has not fielded a capable candidate from Atam Nagar constituency due to which he decided to join the Congress party. “I will officially join the party in the coming days,” he said.

SAD has fielded city industrialist Gumeet Singh Kular from Atam Nagar who has no political background and is considered to be a weak candidate in front of Simarjit Singh Bains.