Both Kaushal and Tinku are said to be close to Chief Minister (CM) Charanjeet Singh Channi.
The competition in Kharar and Dera Bassi among Congress ticket seekers is giving a tough time to the party leadership. In both constituencies, the party had lost with less than 2,000 votes in the 2017 Assembly elections.
In Kharar as many as 31 ticket aspirants had applied for the ticket but Natrajan Kaushal, a lawyer, and Vijay Sharma Tinku’s names are making the rounds along with the former cabinet minister Jagmohan Singh Kang’s son Yadvinder Singh Kang’s. Both Kaushal and Tinku are said to be close to Chief Minister (CM) Charanjit Singh Channi.
Tinku is presently the chief of the District Planning Committee and also into the liquor business.
Kang on the other side is considered close to senior party leaders and he was seeking the ticket for his son Yadvinder Singh Kang.
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“The list could be released anytime, but this time the constituency could see a new face, no doubt Jagmohan Singh Kang could not be ignored but since the town had become a ‘power center’ after Channi was made CM, the candidate could be his close associate, both Natrajan and Tinku are close to him,” a party leader had said on condition of anonymity.
The seat was traditionally a Congress stronghold but the party had lost the seat to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2017 with around 2,000 votes. In the civic body elections, which were held earlier last year, the party fared poorly as it could not win in Nayagaon or get a clear majority in Kharar.
In Dera Bassi, eight ticket aspirants had applied but the names of senior Congress leader Kewal Dhillon, Deepinder Dhillon, and youth leader Amit Bawa Saini are among the frontrunners.
Deepinder Dhillon had lost the elections in 2017 with a margin of around 2,000 votes to SAD’s N K Sharma.
He had contested as an independent in 2012 but lost the elections.
He stood second at that time. Deepinder is considered close to Patiala MP Preneet Kaur and since Captain Amrinder Singh formed his own political party, the party high command could think about the other option.
“Senior leader Kewal Dhillon’s name is also making the rounds, Amit Bawa is also a youth leader and considered close to the senior party leadership,” a Dera Bassi Congress leader said.
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The party had declared the ticket from Mohali in its first list while the candidates from Kharar and Dera Bassi are yet to be declared.
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