Punjab Assembly poll: Dropped ministers on list, Congress keeps its flock together

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, January 15

By allotting the party ticket to 61 of the total 79 MLAs, the Congress has clearly tried to keep its flock together and prevent poaching by other parties. Four ministers in Capt Amarinder Singh’s Cabinet, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Sunder Sham Arora and Gurpreet Singh Kangar, who were dropped, have been selected. So have 14 legislators from reserved seats.

On certain seats, factors going against the MLAs have been ignored by the AICC-appointed screening committee and the “winnability” criterion dropped to prevent intra-party feud and loss of votes. Of the total 34 reserved seats in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, 23 are held by the Congress. In the first list, three MLAs from these seats — Ajaib Singh Bhatti (Malout), Nathu Ram (Balluana) and Balwinder Laddi (Sri Hargobindpur) — have been dropped.

The party high command has done a fine balancing act, keeping in view the difference of opinion between Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Pradesh Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu over some seats. Amarpreet Lally (Garhshankar) and Brinder Dhillon (Ropar) have been allotted the ticket reportedly on the intervention of the top leadership. That Punjab affairs in-charge, Harish Chaudhary, who handled the Punjab Assembly elections in 2017, and Rahul Gandhi aide Krishna Allavaru have had their way is evident.

With CM Channi batting for Sukhwinder Kotli (Adampur) and Sidhu Brinder Singh Dhillon (Ropar), a senior leader told The Tribune that both had been adjusted where factors, such as caste and region, favoured them. Four candidates from the Youth Congress — Barinder Dhillon, Mohit Mohindra, son of Brahm Mohindra, Amarpreet Lally and Sandeep Jakhar, nephew of Sunil Jakhar, ex-chief of Pradesh Congress Committee, have been given the ticket. Sons of two MPs, Dr Amar Singh and Chaudhary Santokh Singh, too have made it to the list.