Chandigarh February 18:
The announcement by the PPCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, saying that most sitting party MLAs were likely to be re-nominated has demoralised the aspirants.
This forced Amarinder to retract from his earlier stand and announce that being a sitting MLA will not necessarily be the sole criterion for allotting the party ticket.
Party sources said that it was during the Rampura Phul rally in Bathinda district where the PCC president had announced that all sitting MLAs would get the party ticket after he saw the massive crowd organised by the MLAs. This was probably interpreted by different people in a different manner.
The maverick Congress leader Jagmeet Brar, who misses no opportunity to criticise Amarinder after having lost the race of PCC presidentship to him, came out with an instant statement saying that Amarinder had no right to declare party candidates of his own and that, too, so early. The leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who though has mended her fences with Amarinder, came out with another statement saying, ticket allotment was the prerogative of the Congress President only.
However, Capt Amarinder Singh sought to set at rest all speculations on the issue, saying being a sitting MLA would not necessarily be the sole criteria for choosing a candidate for awarding the party ticket. At the same time, all sections of society would need to be accommodated to ensure fair and reasonable representation to everyone so that no section felt aggrieved or underrepresented.
The PCC President maintained that suitability and winnabilty of a candidate in a particular constituency would also be equally important. He pointed out that after the delimitation of the Assembly segments, all over Punjab several factors had changed which would need and necessitate the change of approach and strategy.
The announcement by the PPCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, saying that most sitting party MLAs were likely to be re-nominated has demoralised the aspirants.
This forced Amarinder to retract from his earlier stand and announce that being a sitting MLA will not necessarily be the sole criterion for allotting the party ticket.
Party sources said that it was during the Rampura Phul rally in Bathinda district where the PCC president had announced that all sitting MLAs would get the party ticket after he saw the massive crowd organised by the MLAs. This was probably interpreted by different people in a different manner.
The maverick Congress leader Jagmeet Brar, who misses no opportunity to criticise Amarinder after having lost the race of PCC presidentship to him, came out with an instant statement saying that Amarinder had no right to declare party candidates of his own and that, too, so early. The leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who though has mended her fences with Amarinder, came out with another statement saying, ticket allotment was the prerogative of the Congress President only.
However, Capt Amarinder Singh sought to set at rest all speculations on the issue, saying being a sitting MLA would not necessarily be the sole criteria for choosing a candidate for awarding the party ticket. At the same time, all sections of society would need to be accommodated to ensure fair and reasonable representation to everyone so that no section felt aggrieved or underrepresented.
The PCC President maintained that suitability and winnabilty of a candidate in a particular constituency would also be equally important. He pointed out that after the delimitation of the Assembly segments, all over Punjab several factors had changed which would need and necessitate the change of approach and strategy.
