On last day, Punjab CM Charanjit Channi among 931 file nomination
Chandigarh/Ropar, February 1
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was among 931 candidates who filed their nominations in the state on the last day today.
As per data available on the EC software, Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju said the total number of nominations filed in the state stood at 2,279. As many as 1,348 nomination papers had been filed earlier.
In Ropar, Channi filed his papers from Chamkaur Sahib (reserved). The sitting MLA held a roadshow with thousands of his supporters after filing the nomination, in violation of Covid-19 guidelines issued by the EC. Earlier, Channi also addressed a huge gathering of his supporters numbering over 3,000 outside his election office in grain market and then proceeded towards Gurdwara Katalgarh Sahib in a procession. Interestingly, none of the participants, including Channi, was wearing face mask or maintaining social distancing.
In all, a total of 26 nomination papers were filed in three Assembly constituencies of Ropar, Chamkaur Sahib and Anandpur Sahib today.
In Moga, Ravinder Singh, alias Ravi Grewal, filed his nomination papers as Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) candidate from the Dharamkot constituency. Though Grewal is BJP member, being Capt Amarinder Singh’s confidant, the party fielded him on PLC ticket. BJP’s Dr Harjot Kamal also filed his papers for Moga constituency.
In Muktsar, the total assets of sitting Bathinda Rural MLA Rupinder Kaur Ruby, who is Congress candidate from Malout this time, have increased nearly 21 times in the past five years. She recently left AAP and joined the Congress. A perusal of Ruby’s election affidavits revealed that she had total assets of about Rs 1.75 lakh in 2017. However, now her total net assets are worth about Rs 36.42 lakh after deducting the loan taken from a bank.
In Fatehgarh Sahib district, 20 candidates filed their papers in all three Assembly constituencies — nine in Fatehgarh Sahib, six in Amloh and five in Bassi Pathana.
(Inputs from Moga, Muktsar & Fatehgarh Sahib)
