INDIA VOTES 2024: Panel clears 3 names, Mallikarjun Kharge to take call

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, March 19

Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) today unanimously decided to leave the decision on party president Mallikarjun Kharge to select the candidate for the city parliamentary seat out of the three shortlisted names put up before the panel at the party headquarters in Delhi.

Manish Tewari keen on city seat

The sources shared Manish Tewari was interested in the Chandigarh seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections also, but was given ticket from Anandpur Sahib. Former MP Navjot Singh Sidhu was also seeking ticket for his wife Navjot Kaur in the last poll.

Bansal lost in last two elections

Four-time MP Pawan Kumar Bansal was picked as the Congress Lok Sabha nominee from Chandigarh in 2019 and 2014. He lost both times to BJP’s Kirron Kher. The party is also seriously considering a new face for the city this time, said sources.

Former Union ministers Pawan Kumar Bansal and Manish Tewari, who is Anandpur Sahib MP; and city Congress president HS Lucky were earlier shortlisted for ticket by the party. Sources said the name of actor and party leader Raj Babbar was also taken up during the meeting, but eventually, it was unanimously decided to pick the candidate from the three shortlisted names only.

Apart from these three names, the party is also seriously considering a new face for the city this time, said the sources. They said it was the final meeting to decide on the candidature, which is expected to be announced in a day or two.

“Though Kharge has been entrusted with deciding on it, ultimately, top two-three leaders will take a decision in consultation with him. Two former Union ministers are in the race, so they cannot let them down by announcing the name like this,” said a party leader.

Lucky spoke for about eight minutes and presented the whole picture of the Chandigarh Congress. He confirmed Kharge had been requested to pick the candidate from the three shortlisted names.

The Congress nominee will be the INDIA bloc (Cong-AAP) candidate for the seat. However, the sources said local AAP leaders were unhappy with the decision to leave the MP seat for the Congress. In the MC elections, Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor from AAP was elected as a candidate of the alliance.