Amarinders son gets ticket,may face uncle

Had I been in his place,I would have not let that happen.

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State Congress president Captain Amarinder Singhs son Raninder Singh Tikku,who is now the party candidate from Samana,runs a high risk of hitting the wall of opposition from within the family even before he gets ready to take on his Akali opponent Surjit Singh Rakhra.

Amarinders brother Malvinder Singh,who is up in arms against Raninder after being denied party ticket from Samana,has decided to end his more than 35-year association with the Congress.

I am resigning from the Congress. I will tender my resignation to PCC chief tomorrow. If he accepts,it will be good. If he does not,there is no looking back for me. I have ended my relationship with the party once and for all, said Malvinder.

He added: I am weighing my options. I will not take this lying down this time and will retaliate in my own way by tomorrow, Malvinder said,ruling out that he may contest as an Independent.

Malvinder,who had also applied for the ticket from Patiala Rural,said he had no qualms about being not considered from the seat. He,however,minced no words in hitting out at Raninder and his mother Preneet Kaur,the Patiala MP. I have very serious reservation about Raninders political acumen. Politically,he is childish and ignorant, he said,pointing out Raninders defeat in 2009 Lok Sabha polls to SADs Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

I had applied for the party ticket first from Samana. After that Raninder also applied. In fact,it was his mother who applied for ticket on his behalf. Had I been in his place,I would have not let that happen. He has not shown respect to elders. He has fired the first volley to me and he will now be directly responsible for the consequences, said Malvinder. Having worked in Samana for the last 35 years,I have a strong base in the constituency, he added.

Claiming that he had made a sacrifice to give his seat to Amarinder in the past,Malvinder accused the state party chief and Preneet Kaur of scuttling his political aspiration. Malvinder,who has not contested any election till date,claimed that he made a sacrifice in 2002 polls so that Amarinder could be adjusted in Patiala.