Cong forms another panel to select Moga candidate
Saturday, 19/01/2013
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130119/punjab.htm#5
Moga : Overlooking the seven-member committee constituted by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) to shortlist probable candidates for the Moga assembly byelection, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) today constituted another panel of three members for the purpose.
AICC member Gulchain Singh Charak, who is the party affairs in-charge for Punjab, constituted the panel after holding discussions with party president Sonia Gandhi. The new panel would comprise PPCC president Capt Amarinder Singh, Leader of the Opposition Sunil Jakhar and senior youth leader Sukhwinder Singh Danny.
Confirming the development, Danny said the committee would soon meet and discuss the names of probable candidates. “We will look into the merits and demerits of various candidates and also keep in view the caste combinations, which are likely to matter in the bypoll,” he said.
Danny did not rule out the possibility of a Hindu candidate being nominated, as Moga was an urban-dominated constituency with a sizable population of the community living here. “As the SAD has already announced the name of a Hindu candidate (former MLA Joginderpal Jain), the Congress cannot ignore to look into the possibility of a Hindu candidate,” he said.
Former MLAs Sathi Vijay Kumar and Punjab Mahila Congress president Dr Malti Thapar are the frontrunners for the party ticket. Former minister Darshan Singh Brar and Justice Mehtab Singh Gill (retired) are the probable candidates from the Jat Sikh community.
