Punjab: Congress releases first list of 86 candidates; Sidhu will fight from Amritsar East, CM Channi from Chamkaur Sahib
Punjab : Congress has released its first list of 86 candidates ahead of the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections. According to this, State Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu will fight from Amritsar East. All the 117 seats in Punjab will go to the polls on February 14. The results will come on March 10. The name of Chief Minister Channi is also included in the 86 seats where the Congress has announced the names of candidates for the upcoming Punjab elections.
According to this, CM Charanjit Singh Channi will contest from Chamkaur Sahib SC. Apart from this, Malvika Sood, sister of actor Sonu Sood, who recently joined Congress, will contest from Moga. Pratap Singh Bajwa will enter the electoral fray from Kaidan seat. Congress has fielded Deputy CM of Punjab – Sukhjinder Randhawa from Dera Baba Nanak and Om Prakash Soni from Amritsar Central for the state elections. Pargat Singh will contest from Jalandhar Cantt and Om Prakash Soni will contest from Amritsar Central.
With the assembly elections in Punjab barely a month away, political circles have stepped up their election preparations, despite rising concerns over the coronavirus disease situation. This year, the fight for Punjab is more intense as the state grapples with several issues such as farmers’ protests, while the ruling camp is dealing with bitter internal battles. The Congress party on Thursday finalized the names of its candidates in Punjab after a meeting of the Central Election Committee headed by party chief Sonia Gandhi.
Party functionaries familiar with the developments told to Journalists that there was no consensus on re-election of some sitting MLAs. Assembly elections in Punjab are to be held in a single phase on February 14. Counting of votes will take place on March 10. In the 2017 assembly elections, the Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government after 10 years. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerged as the second largest party with 20 seats, followed by SAD winning 15 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has got three seats.
