Playing safe, the Congress party has laid its bet on the tried and tested political horses for the 2017 ballot-race in Punjab.
Declaring its first list of 61 candidates on Thursday¸ the party has decided to field no less than 45 leaders, that is 74 per cent, who are either sitting legislators or those who unsuccessfully contested the previous State Assembly polls. Among them are 31 sitting MlAs.
Balancing the experience with the youthful dynamism, the list includes five youths, six women candidates, eight former MlAs and one former MP.
The names were cleared earlier by the Central Election Committee headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
The party has fielded the former Chief Minister and State party president Capt Amarinder Singh from his bastion, Patiala urban, another former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal from lehra Gaga.
Among the greenhorns are 26-year-old Angad Singh Saini — who is, so far, the youngest nominee in the Congress list, Dalvir Singh Goldy — who has risen amongst the student leaders, besides three others.
Throwing surprises, the party has decided to field Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s estranged nephew Manpreet Singh Badal from Bathinda Urban. Sangrur’s former MP Vijay Inder Singla has also been given party ticket from Sangrur assembly segment.
Interestingly, to keep the dissidence at bay, the party has decided to keep out the names of the “turncoat” MlAs, who recently shifted their loyalties towards the Congress. They include Olympian Pargat Singh, Inder Bir Singh Bolaria, Dr Navjot Kaur, Mahesh Inder Singh, Sarwan Singh Phillaur.
Even as the party high command has, reportedly, decided to give tickets to “most of them” from their respective constituencies, it has chosen to keep them “in-waiting”.
Witnessing an exodus of sorts from other parties to the Congress, especially of rebel Akali MlAs, a section of Congress leaders has raised a banner of revolt opposing tickets to the new joinees by ignoring the traditional party-men.
Capt Amarinder, a day before, went on to clarify that the Akali-turned-Congressmen would only be fielded on seats where it did not have “winning” nominees of its own.
“Since there are too many aspirants, those who could not make it to the final list for Assembly polls will be accommodated once the party forms its government,” tweeted Capt Amarinder on his official Twitter handle.
He also appealed to all Congress workers to come together to campaign for the party's victory in Punjab.
The former chief minister maintained that winnability is key criteria for selection and the party chose to go with winnable candidates across various cross-sections, striking a balance between youth, new faces and experience while giving adequate representation to women.
ONE FAMIlY, ONE CANDIDATE’ RUlE
Commanded by the ‘one family, one candidate’ rule, the party has changed its three sitting MlAs — interestingly all women.
Patiala MlA Preneet Kaur has been replaced by her husband Capt Amarinder, while Nawanshahr MlA Guriqbal Kaur ‘Babli’ will be replaced by her son Angand Saini.
Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa’s wife Charanjeet Kaur Bajwa has paved way for her brother-in-law Fateh Jung Bajwa from Qadian assembly segment.