Cong likely to opt for Preneet or Raninder for Patiala urban seat

Tuesday, 15/07/2014

http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=110650&boxid=59153&uid=&dat=2014-07-15

Patiala : Speculations are rife that Preneet Kaur, three-time Member of Parliament from Patiala, who is also a former Union Minister of State for External Affairs, may contest from Patiala in the assembly election for the Patiala urban seat which has been vacated by Capt Amarinder Singh who resigned after being elected MP from Amrtisar.

Though the New Moti Bagh Palace has been maintaining a studied silence on the issue the name of Raninder Singh, son of Preneet Kaur and Capt Amarinder Singh, is also doing rounds of the Congress party circles. Raninder Singh had contested the last assembly elections in 2012 from the Samana constituency against Surjit Singh Rakhra and lost. Earlier, he had lost to Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Bathinda parliamentary constituency in the 2009 parliamentary elections.

Observers say that this would be a good chance for Raninder Singh to make a successful foray into electoral politics as Patiala is regarded as a stronghold of Congress where the erstwhile royal family enjoys a solid support base. In fact Preneet Kaur and Amarinder Singh have secured good leads in this constituency everytime they have contested elections.

Since the New Moti Bagh Palace, residence of Preneet Kaur and Capt Amarinder Singh, has been in control of Congress affairs and has the final word in local Congress politics, no candidate is expected to make an application for allotment of party ticket in case somebody from the erstwhile royal family decides to contest the assembly by-election.

Capt Amarinder Singh has represented the Patiala seat for many years and enjoys a solid support base in Patiala. In fact he has hardly campaigned every time he has contested from Patiala since the royal family enjoys reverence of the Patialvis.

However, things are slightly different now ever since Preneet Kaur was routed by Dr Dharamvir Gandhi of the Aam Aadmi Party by a margin of about 20,000 votes. She has represented the Patiala parliamentary constituency for three consecutive terms.

There have been voices of dissent within the party with some of the Congress dissident leaders lamenting that during the last 15 years that Preneet Kaur had been a Member of Parliament from Patiala no big project had been sanctioned for Patiala. Some of them allege that they had put in years of service to the party and had now been marginalised. They said that people much junior to them were at the helm of affairs now ‘leading to widespread’ resentment among Congress rank and file.