Old ‘friends’ likely to battle it out at Lehra and Sanour

Friday, 02/12/2016

http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

The ongoing Congress Screening Committee meeting in New Delhi to finalise candidates for the polls has set the tone for two high-pitched elections, between old ‘political friends’, who will be foes at Lehra and Sanour seats.

At Lehra, the Congress has almost finalised its sitting MLA and former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal where she will, in all probability, be pitted against state finance minister Parminder Dhindsa, son of MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

At Sanour from where Lal Singh has been elected six times — he or his son Rajinder Singh — will face Prem Singh Chandumajra’s son Harinderpal Singh. Both Chandumajra and Lal Singh share close ties. The screening committee has rejected the ‘requests’ of Bhattal and vice-president Lal Singh to shift to other seats.

Lal Singh had not only been demanding relaxation in the principle of ‘one family-one ticket’ to get himself a ticket as well as son Rajinder Singh from Samana; Bhattal is interested in shifting from Lehra to Sunam. Dhindsa has been shifted to Lehra from Sunam.

Record shows that in successive elections since 2004, the Congress candidate trails in Lok Sabha elections from Lehra, while Bhattal won the seat in the assembly polls. In 2009, Congress MP Vijay Inder Singla had complained against her for not supporting him. It is also alleged that Bhattal and Dhindsa family have a ‘quid pro-pro’ arrangement for the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls.

Source say, this time, however, Sukhbir Singh Badal, sniffing a ‘winnable seat’, has fielded junior Dhindsa from Lehra. This has baffled the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with Sukhbir snatching their thunder, denying them a possible issue. Bhattal is now also in a quandary, because if she shifts to another seat, it will go against her personally and not against Dhindsa.

SCENE IN SANOUR

In Sanour, the Congress had finished third after the AAP and the SAD in 2014 LS elections. Lal Singh, through his feelers, requested the screening committee to give relaxation for him from ‘one family-one seat’ and if not possible, give him the Samana seat, from where he is keen to launch his son Rajinder Singh in electoral politics.

“If we change the seats of senior leaders like Lal Singh and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal it will be a similar situation to the 2014 LS elections, when senior leaders Manish Tewari, P Chidabram and others opted out, derailing the campaign,” a senior Congress leader said, adding that it will give AAP an issue to flog – that senior party leaders and SAD are playing a friendly match.

“We have finalised that both Bhattal and Lal Singh will stick to their seats. However, we have given them time to see if they want ticket for their wards of themselves.” said a screening committee member.

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