CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s brother Dr Manohar Singh who was denied a ticket to contest the upcoming elections will fight as an independent candidate against the official candidate of the party from Bassi Pathana.
Singh had resigned as Senior Medical Officer (SMO) from Kharar civil hospital as he was eyeing to contest from Bassi Pathana. But the ruling Congress is instead fielded sitting MLA Gurpreet Singh GP from the Bassi Pathana (SC) assembly seat. CM Channi has been lobbying to get a ticket for his brother but he was denied a ticket as Congress has stuck to the one-ticket one family formula. Therefore, Singh has decided to fight as an independent candidate against the official candidate of the party.
Dubbing his ticket denial as `injustice’ to the people of the constituency Singh announced he would be fighting the elections as an independent candidate as he alleged that the sitting MLA is `incapable and ineffective.’
Singh said he took the decision of contesting as an independent after meeting several councillors, village sarpanch and panch who asked him to fight the polls. "Several prominent people of Bassi Pathana area have asked me to fight as an independent and I will go by what they have said. There is no chance of going back and I will surely fight these elections. People told me it was wrong to give the ticket to him (Gurpreet Singh GP). He had earlier not done anything and now he has again been foisted upon them," said Singh.
Singh said he will talk to his brother Channi and convince him about his decision.
Last year, Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu had inaugurated the poll office of Gurpreet Singh GP at Bassi Pathana and has been lobbying for Gurpreet to be given a ticket.
Also, CM Channi was seeking this seat for Nimisha Mehta from Garhshankar but that too has been denied as Punjab Youth Congress leader Amarpreet Lally is the party candidate from this seat.
The grand old party has given tickets to the kin of senior leaders as two MPs managed seats for their sons. As Kamil Amar Singh, son of Fatehgarh Saheb MP Amar Singh fielded from Rajkot (SC) seat and Vikram Choudhury son of Jalandhar MP Santokh Choudhary from Phillaur (SC) seat.