Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge along with party Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party General Secretary K.C. Venugopal and others during the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, at party headquarters in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: ANI
The Congress on April 29 announced four more Lok Sabha candidates from Punjab, fielding PCC chief Amarinder Singh Brar (Raja Warring) from Ludhiana and party general secretary Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa from Gurdaspur.
The party has fielded former MP Vijay Inder Singla from Anandpur Sahib and Kulbir Singh Zira from Khadoor Sahib, replacing sitting MP Jasbir Singh Gill.
Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari has been shifted to Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency while Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu has joined the BJP.
With Monday’s list, the party has announced candidates for 12 of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. It is yet to name its nominee from Ferozepur constituency.
The latest names were finalised at the party’s Central Election Committee meeting held on Saturday.
In Ludhiana, Warring, a three-time MLA from Gidderbaha, is pitted against three-time MP and BJP candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu, AAP’s Ashok Parashar Pappi and Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Ranjeet Singh Dhillon.
A Jat Sikh, Mr. Warring had unsuccessfully contested from Bathinda seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He was the transport minister in the previous Congress government.
Earlier, the name of former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu was also doing the rounds for Ludhiana seat.
BJP’s Mr. Bittu has represented Ludhiana parliamentary constituency twice. He recently left the Congress and joined the BJP.
Mr. Randhawa, the Congress candidate from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat, was the deputy chief minister in the previous Charanjit Singh Channi-led government. He is the sitting MLA from Dera Baba Nanak seat and also the Congress in-charge for Rajasthan.
A four-time MLA, Mr. Randhawa will take on BJP’s Dinesh Babbu, SAD’s Daljit Singh Cheema and AAP’s Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi.
Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by BJP’s Sunny Deol.
The Congress picked Mr. Singla for Anandpur Sahib constituency.
Mr. Singla will face SAD’s Prem Singh Chandumajra and AAP’s Malvinder Singh Kang. The BJP is yet to name its candidate from this seat.
A former MP, Mr. Singla had unsuccessfully contested from Sangrur Assembly seat in the 2022 Punjab polls.
He was elected to the Assembly from Sangrur in 2017. He served as the PWD minister in the previous Congress government.
Mr. Zira, the Congress candidate from Khadoor Sahib seat, will face AAP’s Laljit Singh Bhullar, BJP’s Manjit Singh Manna Mianwind, SAD’s Virsa Singh Valtoha and radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who is contesting as an Independent.
Punjab goes to polls on June 1, the last round of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.
