Congress screening committee for Punjab to meet in first week of April

Tribune News Service

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, March 31

With the BJP announcing six candidates for the Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Faridkot, Gurdaspur and Amritsar seats, the AICC-appointed screening committee for Punjab has scheduled its meeting for the first week of April.

The screening committee headed by Bhakta Charan Das is learnt to have zeroed in on two or three names for each seat. The final discussions will be held before one name each from each seat is sent to the central election committee for final approval. In the previous meetings of the screening committee, discussions were held on the outcome of the surveys.

In a few cases, there could be two names. The Congress is expected to announce the candidates for Sangrur, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur in the first list, said party sources.

The BJP has already announced the names of Ravneet Singh Bittu (Ludhiana), Sushil Kumar Rinku (Jalandhar), Hans Raj Hans (Faridkot), Taranjeet Singh Sandhu (Amritsar), Preneet Kaur (Patiala) and Dinesh Singh Babbu (Gurdaspur).

Sources said to field Hindu face from Ludhiana, the Congress had the option of Manish Tewari and Bharat Bhushan Ashu. For Gurdaspur, present MLAs Sukhjinder Randhawa and Barindermeet Pahra are strong contenders, while for Jalandhar, name of former CM Charanjit Singh Channi is likely to be announced.

A senior leader said with MP GS Aujla and former minister OP Soni in the race for Amritsar seat, the party would be looking for the best candidate. At present, the party has five MPs, GS Aujla (Amritsar), Jasbir Singh Gill (Khadoor Sahib), Muhammad Sadiq (Faridkot), Manish Tewari (Anandpur Sahib) and Dr Amar Singh (Fatehgarh Sahib). Ravneet Bittu (Ludhiana) has already joined the BJP.

Up to three suggestions for each seat

• The screening panel is learnt to have zeroed in on two or three names for each seat
• To field Hindu face from Ludhiana, the party may opt for Manish Tewari or Bharat Bhushan Ashu
• For Gurdaspur, MLAs Sukhjinder Randhawa and Barindermeet Pahra are strong contenders
• For Jalandhar, name of former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is likely to be announced

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