New Delhi, September 20: Punjab Congress factionalism is clouding the party’s ticket distribution process for the upcoming Gurdaspur parliamentary byelection with the top brass today meeting rival groups to assess the ground situation and take a final call on the nominee.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Punjab unit president Sunil Jakhar, a potential candidate for the October-11 bypoll, today and soon afterwards met Rajya Sabha MP from the state Partap Singh Bajwa and his wife Charanjit Kaur, who is seeking a ticket from the segment.
Sources said Jakhar, who met Gandhi first, explained the ground situation in Gurdaspur and batted for candidate selection based on winnability and acceptance.“If recent events are anything to go by, people have started questioning PM Narendra Modi’s policies and the BJP is beginning to appear on shaky wicket. Given this situation, the Congress has to put its best foot forward to win the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelection. This is especially crucial because the Congress is in power in Punjab. If we don’t win Gurdaspur LS segment, the BJP will get a shot in the arm. That scenario has to be averted,” a senior Congress leader said explaining what the party would factor in before deciding the final nominee.
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, who met Gandhi yesterday, has backed Jakhar as the candidate for the Gurdaspur seat and left the final decision to the high command. Jakhar has personally told the leadership he would do whatever is asked of him.
Bajwa, meanwhile, is seeking a ticket for his wife Charanjit Kaur, a former Qadian MLA, and is bargaining hard. Senior Congress leaders, however, feel it would be difficult for the leadership to accommodate “so many people from one family” considering Partap Bajwa is a Rajya Sabha MP and his brother Fateh Jung a sitting MLA from Qadian.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/
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