Wait for Congress tickets in Punjab gets longer as party postpones CEC meet

Rahul Gandhi with CM Captain Amarinder Singh at Congress rally to kick-start election campaign in Punjab at Killi Chahal village in Moga. (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)

The wait of the Congress candidates for tickets for the Lok Sabha election in Punjab just got longer with party postponing the Central Election Committee (CEC) meet for the state where the elections are to be held in the last phase on May 19. The meeting was earlier scheduled for March 16. Now, the party will not hold the meeting before mid-April, Congress general secretary incharge Asha Kumari told the Indian Express. “We will need central leadership for the meeting. For now it has been put on hold,” she said.

The candidates for Punjab will be decided in the CEC. The screening committee for Punjab had met a few days ago in Delhi. The shortlisted candidates were to be taken up with the CEC, but with the meeting being postponed, the announcement will now be delayed. The notification of election in Punjab would be issued on April 22. Congress feels it does not make sense to announce candidates over a month before that as it could “burn them out” before time.

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Kumari, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and PPCC president Sunil Jakhar held a meeting at CM’s residence Thursday, discussed probable candidates and decided to start campaigning in the state.  Jakhar would be hitting the streets and campaign in all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in the coming days and showcase the works done by the party’s government in state and impress upon people how it was required to bring Congress at the Centre. The CM is also likely to go to different parts of the state.

Several leaders, who have applied for the ticket, are waiting eagerly for the suspense to end. Barring a few seats including Gurdaspur where Jakhar is the sitting MP, and Ludhiana represented by Ravneet Singh Bittu, the party does not have a clear candidate in most. In Patiala, Chief Minister’s wife And former MP Preneet Kaur is likely to be fielded.