After weeks of confusion, deliberation and replacement of candidates, Congress on Tuesday declared the remaining names for Punjab’s three lok Sabha constituencies.
After sitting MP Manish Tewari’s refusal to contest from ludhiana, the party has decided to field sitting MP from Sri Anandpur Sahib Ravneet Singh Bittu — whose candidature was earlier announced from Sri Anandpur Sahib and was later replaced by former Union Minister Ambika Soni.
Throwing some more surprises, the party has decided to replace sitting Hoshiarpur MP and Union Minister Santosh Chowdhary with Jalandhar MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee. In Kaypee’s place, the party has brought another prominent Dalit face for the reserved seat of Jalandhar — former Minister and senior party leader Chaudhary Santokh Singh.
It has been learnt that the replacement and shuffling of seats were done as the two sitting MPs — Chowdhary and Kaypee — were facing anti-incumbency in their current segments.
The replacement of Union Minister Santosh Chaudhary who was inducted in the Union Cabinet at the fag end of the UPA Government, is surprising with questions being asked why she was inducted in the Cabinet in the first place if she cannot even get the party ticket. The sitting Hoshiarpur MP was replaced by Kaypee.
Her thin winning margin of just 366 votes in 2009 polls, party’s poor performance in her constituency during 2012 State Assembly polls loosing seven of the nine seats, and not being able to secure a win even for her husband Ram lubhaya who contested from Sham Chaurasi Assembly seat, coupled with her inaccessibility to her own party men went against Chowdhary.
First-time MP from Jalandhar, Kaypee has been replaced Chowdhary as things were not going in his favour to repeat his success in 2014 lok Sabha polls owing to sharp divisions within local Congress groups.Known as prominent Dalit leader of Doaba region and having rich political legacy owing to his father — five-time MlA from Jalandhar Darshan Singh Kaypee, decision to move him to Hoshiarpur was anticipated by many.
His failure to win even a single seat for his party from nine assembly segments under his parliamentary seat, including that of his wife, Suman Kaypee, that too in the area known to be party’s stronghold, especially due to the concentration of Dalit voters, went against his candidature from Jalandhar.
In his place, former Minister and Congress stalwart Chaudhary Santokh Singh has been brought in as another Dalit leader. Chaudhary’s son and Punjab Youth Congress president Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary’s name was doing the rounds for Jalandhar, considering his capability of clinching the win.
However, the party has decided to lay its bet on the tried and tested leaders, instead of introducing the new ones.