Deadline approaches, ticket seekers throng PPCC office

Saturday, 13/08/2016

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/deadline-approaches-ticket-seekers-throng-ppcc-office/279951.html

Arrive with details of 2 voters from each booth in constituency

Chandigarh : With barely three days left to apply for the Congress ticket, prospective candidates were seen carrying bundles of papers at the PPCC office here today.

For the first time, the state Congress has made it mandatory for every applicant to furnish the details of two voters from each booth in their respective constituency, along with copies of voter ID cards.

The new format has led to resentment among a section of the MLAs. While PPCC president Capt Amarinder Singh has said that all those desirous of contesting the elections, including the MLAs, should fill the forms and get these attested from a notary, the legislators say that there should have been clarity on the ticket allotment by now.

Some of the aspiring candidates said it was a tedious and expensive process to collect the documents.

The scrutiny of the applications will begin after the August 15 deadline expires. Capt said the last date would not be extended.

Application fee charged

Contrary to Amarinder's announcement on waiving the application fee of Rs 10,000 (general category candidates) and Rs 5,000 (reserved), the staff in the PPCC office was on Friday seen taking the fee. Some of the applicants alleged that no receipts were issued. A PPCC spokesman clarified that the money would be refunded to the aspirants who would not get the ticket.

Capt applies for Patiala (city) ticket

Patiala: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Singh on Friday officially applied for the Patiala (city) seat as a probable Congress candidate for the forthcoming Assembly elections. The Congress has asked ticket aspirants to send information in a specified form. Before becoming an MP from Amritsar, Amarinder was an MLA from Patiala (city). At present, his wife Preneet Kaur is an MLA from the same seat after she won the bypoll. Amarinder’s staff submitted his form at the PCC office in Chandigarh today. Amarinder said he had applied for the Patiala (city) ticket as per the procedure set by the party. He said he would stick to his stand of “one party, one ticket”. This was a clear indication that his wife Preneet Kaur would not contest the forthcoming elections. “She will contest the parliamentary elections later, subject to the party approval,” he said. “Patiala is my home turf and there was no doubt in my mind while applying for the seat,” he added.

Cong promises settlement of farmers’ loans

Jalandhar: Amarinder Singh on Friday promised one-time settlement of farmers’ loans after the Congress forms the government in the state. Addressing the “Halke Vich Captain” programme at Nawanshahr, he said the Congress government would bring in a law to ensure that the properties of debt-ridden farmers were not auctioned. Capt Amarinder took a dig at Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for blaming others for their own failures. “Like Kejriwal blames Prime Minister Narendra Modi for all his failures, Sukhbir has put blame on the ISI for the breakdown of law and order in Punjab,” he said. On the party’s manifesto, he said the party’s manifesto would be elaborate and comprehensive concerning all issues related to Punjab. Capt Amarinder said during his previous regime his government had waived loans of all farmers which they had taken from cooperative banks. He also visited the Bishop’s House in Jalandhar.