CHANDIGARH: The ruling Congress is in a fix as at least eight prominent leaders have chosen to contest the Punjab assembly elections as independent candidates against the official party nominees after being denied tickets. The grand old party is now trying to pacify them in the hope that they will withdraw their nomination papers.
Sources said the party leaders who have filed nominations as Independent candidates are Dr Manohar Singh, who is the brother of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, from Bassi Pathana, Harpinder Singh, who is the brother of Member of Parliament Jasbir Singh Dimpa, from Khadoor Sahib, Manjit Kaur, who is the wife of Deputy Speaker Ajaib Singh Bhatti, from Badhaur, Rana Inder Partap Singh, who is the son of state cabinet minister Rana Gurjeet Singh, from Sultanpur Lodhi, senior party leader Daaman Kaur Bajwa from Sunam, another party leader KK Bawa from Ludhiana West and sitting Congress MLA Angad Singh Saini from Nawanshahr.
Saini alleged that the decision to deny him the ticket was taken by the party high command based not on his performance but due to his wife Aditi Singh, a Congress MLA from UP’s Rae Bareli, quitting the party to join the BJP there recently. She had reportedly dared Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest from Rae Bareli.
However, former MLA Kewal Dhillon, who has been denied the ticket from Barnala, has not filed his nomination as an Independent candidate after Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi went to his house on Tuesday evening to mollify him. Ravi Nandan Bajwa, son of state cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, who wanted to fight as an independent candidate from Batala, also did not file his papers.
While former minister and senior leader Mohinder Singh Kaypee, a relative of CM Channi, was denied a ticket from Adampur as it had been given to Sukhwinder Kotli, the suspense continued till the last moment as Kaypee went to file his nominations but did not do so and Kotli filed his papers.
A senior leader said that the party will try to convince these leaders to withdraw their nominations but if they do not do so, then the party will issue show-cause notices to them asking why they should not be expelled from the party but all this will take place after February 4.