CHANDIGARH: After talks with the rebel faction failed, the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday announced the names of five candidates in Punjab for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The party also appointed Talwandi Sabo MLA Baljinder Kaur as the chief spokesperson of its state unit.
Chairman of the state core committee Principal Budhram and Baljinder Kaur said the party decided to field sitting MPs Bhagwant Mann and Prof. Sadhu Singh from their respective constituencies, Sangrur and Faridkot.
Dr Ravjot Singh will contest from Hoshiarpur, while Narinder Singh Shergill gets Anandpur Sahib. AAP Majha zone in-charge Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal is a candidate from Amritsar.
All the candidates are old members of the party and have worked hard at ground level for the upliftment of the party, Budhram said. He said that fulfilling the aspirations of the workers, the party has allotted tickets to people who are raising the voice of the people of Punjab.
Kaur said the Gujarat model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh's model have failed drastically at the Centre and the state. “Modi after wresting power has let the people down by deceiving them of the promises made during polls.” She said farmers are agitating throughout the country and unemployment is mounting day by day.
Amarinder came into power with hollow promises of providing jobs to the youth but has now reduced the salaries of government employees, she said. “Farmers of the state are committing suicides due to the government apathy. The education system has completely collapsed in the state.”
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi is working hard to uplift the living standard of the people, she said. “The work done in the field of education, health, water supply is being acknowledged by the media at an international level. The AAP will fight the general elections on Kejriwal’s development model.”
Candidates for the remaining eight seats would be announced later.