CHANDIGARH, February 17: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh today said, being a sitting MLA will not necessarily be the sole criteria for choosing a candidate for awarding the party ticket. At the same time all sections of the society will need to be accommodated to ensure fair and reasonable representation to everyone so that no section feels aggrieved or underrepresented.
In a statement issued here today, Capt Amarinder Singh said, “all of us know it is the prerogative of the Congress President Ms Sonia Gandhi to finalise the tickets, but my experience has been that the sitting MLAs are usually given preference”. He said, “I have been a member of six parliamentary boards chaired by the Congress President to decide tickets for Punjab and my experience has been that sitting MLAs have usually been given the ticket unless for some other overwhelming reasons”.
The PCC President maintained that suitability and winnabilty of a candidate in a particular constituency will also be equally important. He pointed out, after the delimitation of the assembly segments all over Punjab several factors have changed which will need and necessitate the change of approach and strategy.
“The situation and circumstances in several assembly segments have thoroughly changed while some constituencies have totally seized to exist”, he pointed out, while adding, all these factors will play an important role in deciding the candidates to be fielded in the elections. “And in several segments the total texture and demography of the constituency has changed from what it was in 2007 thus necessitating the need for examining other factors as well”, he added.
The PCC President said, the Congress being a secular party will ensure uniformity and balance among all the communities and groups of people so that no particular community feels aggrieved and underrepresented.