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New Delhi: The Congress has finalised its candidates for the 2022 Punjab Assembly Election at a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee on Thursday held under the leadership of party chief Sonia Gandhi. Sources said the meeting, held virtually, discussed all the party candidates and finalised the list of more than 70 candidates which include a large number of sitting MLAs.
According to sources, Congress has Chief Minister Charanjeeet Singh Channi, who is currently representing the Chamkaur Sahib seat in Punjab Assembly, is likely to contest from two seats, news agency ANI reported. A top source in the Congress informed that the party is keen to field Channi from two seats in two different regions of Punjab. “Apart from Chamkaur Sahib Assembly seat which comes in Maajha region of Punjab, Congress is all set to field CM Channi from Adampur Assembly constituency which falls in the Doaba Region where a large number of seats have a chunk of Dalit votes who are a deciding factor in the region. Along with that, it will not be a surprise to see sitting MPs as candidates for Assembly polls,” the source added.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill said that he is keen to fight if the party wants to field him for assembly polls. “We are keen to fight if the party wants us to field for assembly polls, but it can be decided by party interim president Sonia Gandhi. If she will ask me to contest the polls, I will definitely fight the polls,” Gill told ANI.
Another Congress MP on the condition of anonymity said, “Yes, there is a discussion on fielding MPs like Pratap Singh Bajwa whose tenure is ending in March from Rajya Sabha.”
When asked why Congress wants to field its sitting MPs in Assembly polls, the Member of Parliament replied that the aim behind putting them is to make the battle serious and build up the perception that the party wants to win the elections.
Since there was no consensus on around five seats, the party’s screening committee would meet again on Friday to arrive at a decision. The Congress will release the list of the candidates for Punjab assembly polls in a day or two, sources quoted by news agency PTI said. There is a lack of consensus on repeating some of the sitting MLAs, they said.
The AAP and the SAD have already declared a number of their candidates for the 2022 Punjab Election. The assembly elections in Punjab will be held in a single phase on February 14. The results will be declared on March 10.
(With inputs from ANI)
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