AAP’s second list of dozen more candidates likely today
Wednesday, 17/08/2016
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=163012&boxid=57910&uid=&dat=2016-08-17
Chandigarh : The hullabaloo in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which erupted over the release of first list containing names of 19 candidates for Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections 2017, has not yet calmed down and being the first in the race, the party is all set to come up with its second list of about 12 more candidates.
Though the second list will be representing all three regions of the state-Majha, Malwa and Doaba, this time the majority of names are expected to come up from Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur districts.
The party’s 16-member state screen committee, after having received 15 to 30 names of applicants from each of the constituencies, held a detailed meeting in Chandigarh on Monday evening. The meeting, interestingly, was attended by state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur who was otherwise sulking over the allotment of tickets to some “non-deserving” candidates in the first list.
Party’s state campaign committee chairman Bhagwant Mann, Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak and Sadhu Singh were prominent members of the AAP who attended the meeting.
The screening committee, as learnt, has selected three to five members from each of the constituencies being considered in the second list. The list is scheduled to be discussed at Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the AAP at Delhi on Wednesday evening, where the names will be finalised before the release of the list.
It is pertinent to mention that having high aspirants to get the ticket in the AAP, those rejected by the party’s high command have been sending shock waves to the declared candidates and the leadership. In the past 10 days, the AAP has witnessed several protests in different constituencies, including Bathinda (Rural), Mohali and Payal. A former IAS officer H S Kingra also resigned from the party after his claim for party ticket was rejected, as learnt.
The first list carried the names of Himmat Singh Shergill (Mohali), Harjot Singh Bains (Sahnewal), Arjuna awardee Sajjan Singh Cheema (Sultanpur Lodhi), Gurditt Singh Sekhon (Faridkot), Santokh Singh Salana (Bassi Pathana), Mohan Singh Phalianwala (Ferozepur rural) Brig Raj Kumar (Balachaur) and Kultar Singh Sandhwa (Kotkapura).
Further, Rupinder Kaur Ruby (Bathinda rural), Inderbir Singh Nijjer (Amritsar south), Gurvinder Singh Shampura (Fatehgarh Churian), Samarbir Sidhu (Fazilka), Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar (Muktsar), Rajpreet Singh Randhawa (Ajnala), Gurpreet Singh Lapran (Payal) Amarjit Singh (Ropar) and Jasvir Singh Sekhon (Dhuri) were also in the list.
And among 19, there were four-five which the state convener didn’t want to be in the list.
A claim that the party in Punjab is being ruled by outsiders is emerging a serious problem for the state leadership of the AAP and the state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur is also a victim of circumstances, as he projected himself while speaking to Daily Post: “The world is two-edged sword. If I won’t raise the genuine issues of party workers, who else will speak for them. I will hardly mind suffering if it is in the interest of the party workers.”
