Not Possible To Accommodate All Aspirants in Ticket Allotment, Says Capt Amarinder
Hopes Better Sense Would Prevail On Disgruntled Cong Leaders & They’ll Work For Party
Jalandhar, April 13: Brushing aside the resentment of party leaders who had been denied ticket for the parliamentary elections, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday said with only 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state, it had not been possible to accommodate all the 177 aspirants for tickets, which were allotted by the Congress high command based the criteria of winnability.
Tickets were allotted to balance youth with experience, the Chief Minister told mediapersons in an informal chat after welcoming former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Chandan Garewal into the party fold. Grewal, a prominent Balkmiki leader, had quit AAP in October 2017, just months after he unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls on their ticket from Kartarpur.
Asked to comment on rumours that some disgruntled congress leaders were getting ready to form a separate Congress Taksali, the Chief Minister said not all ticket applicants could be accommodated, and hoped better sense would prevail on these leaders and they would work for the success of the party.
To a specific question about denial of ticket to senior Congress leader Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Captain Amarinder pointed out that he had unsuccessfully contested on party ticket three times, and even his wife had been given a chance but had lost. To another question, the Chief Minister assured that the Jalandhar priest’s missing cash case would soon be solved and the culprits would be apprehended. An SIT had already been formed to crack the case, he added.